WisPolitics: Hundreds march to protest National Org for Marriage rally

[undeterred]

7/27/2010

Hundreds of protesters shouted down same-sex marriage opponents today on the steps of the state Capitol, drawing an angry rebuke from one Republican lawmaker. A rally planned by the New Jersey-based National Organization for Marriage that attracted about 50 supporters of traditional marriage spurred a counter protest by about 500 who support giving gay, lesbian and transgender couples the right to marry.

State Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, scolded the protesters, which he termed “the hard, anti-Christian left,” for being disrespectful the NOM speakers. He said conservative activists don’t engage in the same behavior. “I’ve been here for very extreme feminist rallies – we never shout them down,” Grothman said.

“It’s only the people behind you who are scared to death of the truth,” Grothman said, drawing derisive cheers from the protesters.

Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger, whose group was one of the organizers of the march, said the purpose of the rally was not to disrupt the NOM event. “The purpose of the rally was really to show the LGBT community supports marriage, too, and to really highlight the need for marriage equality in Wisconsin,” Belanger said. “We want to show that people in Wisconsin are fair-minded and marriage is something we agree with (NOM) about – it is important and it does provide caring couples with the legal protections and respect we think everyone deserves.”

The pro-marriage equality protesters marched up State Street from the Library Mall on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, and peacefully but loudly expressed their opinion of the NOM event, which is part of the organization’s nationwide “Summer for Marriage” tour. Capitol Police cordoned off a space in front of the State Street entrance of the Capitol for the NOM rally.

“Keep your hate out of our state,” shouted the protesters, drowning out the speakers at the NOM podium.

http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=204486

http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=29965