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Michael Marcavage becomes just another guy with a bullhorn
"We are one of the very few countries that protect unpopular speech," Pennsylvania Common Pleas Judge Pamela Dembe declared today in dismissing charges against Repent America founder Michael Marcavage and three others accused of "ethnic intimidation," riot, and criminal conspiracy.

"Ethnic intimidation" in this case didn't have anything to do with ethnicity: That's Pennsylvania's name for its hate crime law—Marcavage and the others were protesting at the Outfest gay and lesbian festival last October. Marcavage said they were just reading Scripture and calling passsersby to repent. With a bullhorn. Oh, and refusing to obey police orders to move. In a recent newspaper interview, he reportedly said:

According to the Scriptures, it's the government's job to enforce God's law and to uphold his law, and the Bible talks about how, I don't want to really get into this — it'll make me sound like I'm crazy — but it does talk about how [homosexuals] are to be put to death. The wages of sin is death. But I want to make [it] clear that I'm not advocating the [independent] killing of homosexuals. … I'm saying that the government's duty is to uphold God's law. … I know that's harsh, but we have all broken the law, God's law, and we need to be held accountable.

After his arrest, Marcavage became a mini-celebrity among such groups as the American Family Association. But other groups, like Focus on the Family, gave his case little attention. Organizations like the American Civil Liberties Union and even gay advocacy groups said the arrests were unconstitutional, wrong, and bad tactics. Most agreed that the charges stood no chance in the court system.

And now that the charges have been dismissed, this item moves from the "threats to freedom" file to "wacky news." Mr. Marcavage, your 15 minutes are up. The rest of us are going to go back to talking about the nature of sex and marriage like adults.

Free speech:

• 'Family values' group's suit against city tossed | Judge: Free speech rights of workers forming religious organization weren't violated (The Oakland Tribune, Ca.)
• Stop this folly now | There is no need to sacrifice free speech in order to protect British Muslims (Timothy Garton Ash, The Guardian, London)

Homosexuality:

• Billboard painted with anti-gay slurs | A billboard promoting the message that gays and lesbians can change through Christianity was vandalized this week with slurs degrading homosexuals (The Galveston County Daily News, Tex.)
• Archbishop's warning on gay split | The Archbishop of Canterbury has warned there can be no "cost-free outcome" over the divisive issue of homosexuality in the church (BBC)
• Diocese of York rules out pro-gay primate | Pro-gay liberals have been virtually ruled out of the running to become the next archbishop of York, the second most senior post in the Church of England (The Telegraph, London)
• The gay child left behind | The news that Maya Keyes, the daughter of Alan Keyes, is a lesbian was good news for gays and lesbians. Or was it? (Dan Savage, The New York Times)
• Senate committee rejects adoption applicant questions | A Virginia Senate committee yesterday killed a bill that would have required state officials to report whether a person petitioning to adopt a child is "currently engaged in voluntary homosexual activity" (The Washington Post)
• Gay rights debate about families | Some Maine columnists are disparaging me personally and belittling my Christian beliefs (Michael S. Heath, Portland Press Herald, Me.)

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February (Web-only) 2005, Vol. 49