From: bard@cutter.ssd.loral.com (J H Woodyatt)
Subject: Re: Meet Operation Rescue
Reply-To: bard@cutter.ssd.loral.com
Organization: Abiogenesis 4 Less
Date: Tue, 29 Dec 1992 19:33:39 GMT

cj@eno.esd.sgi.com (C.J. Silverio) writes:
# bard@cutter.ssd.loral.com (J H Woodyatt) writes:
# |I got word last night through a close friend in a position to receive
# |such news that Operation Rescue is planning to seige a hundred or so
# |cities in the middle of January.
# 
# |He also said that (and this is the part I have trouble believing -- I
# |can chalk it up to paranoia if its wrong) they plan to branch out to
# |more overt anti-gay activity.  I couldn't get him to be more specific,
# |but he's promised to get me a copy of the press release.
# 
# There might be a connection with the Oregon homophobia
# incident.  The people behind the failed anti-gay initiative
# there are offering to take their bigotry on the road in other
# states.  If they did "so well" in liberal Oregon, they say, they
# can do better in other states.  Their constituency probably has
# a considerable overlap with OR's.
# 
# Lance maintains that the Christian fundie anti-abortion movement
# is not about abortion at all.  He thinks it's about polarizing
# people, about mobilizing a political army, about taking
# political control of this country.  You've got a gang of
# fundamentalist Christians already organized, who have proved
# their willingness to break laws for god.  Now put 'em to work on
# other aspects of the rabid right Christian agenda!  (Anti-gay
# laws?  Anti-contraception laws?  Who knows?)

Heh.  Watched Pat Robertson's 700 Club lately?  Jeez, these people
have a weird mindset.  How Pat and his weasels managed to spend an
entire episode warning their flock about the dangers of the pagan
rituals underlying Halloween celebrations and turn around a month
later and willfully promote similar rituals in the guise of Christmas
traditions is quite beyond me.

It does not strike me as being even remotely out of character for
Operation Rescue, ostensibly an anti-abortion action coalition, to be
in the business of activism for other religious right causes.

# |Does anyone here on the net know anything about O.R.'s schedule for
# |January?  Is this just an annual revival meeting thing, or are they
# |planning on coming out to play?
# 
# If you hear anything, please tell us.  I haven't been to any
# clinic defenses recently, and I'd like to get re-involved if
# there's a need.

Here's the scoop.  I talked to Mojo this morning on the phone, and he
promises to follow up with something more solid after he talks to his
source on New Year's Eve.

The rumor is that Operation Rescue sent out a letter to a collection
of churches in Baltimore announcing that there would be demonstrations
in a hundred or so cities across the country in the middle of January
primarily aimed at demonstrating against homosexual activism.  Mojo
says the letter was intercepted by somebody at a gay and lesbian
rights organization in Baltimore, who told him about it -- and he told
me.

As you can see from my story, it's a fairly flimsy rumor.  About the
only part of it that I find compelling is the idea that O.R. is
scheduling something for the middle of January, and it's probably
going to happen in Washington, D.C., as well as a few other places.

I told Mojo I have posted what I know here and he promises to do what
he can to get me a copy of the letter if possible.  I'd like to get
the story straight.

If *anybody* has information more reliable than mine on O.R.'s plans
for the middle of January, I'd really like to know.  So would Mojo and
the rest of his friends and neighbors.


-- 
+---------------------------+  ``Man has not a single right which is
| J H Woodyatt              |  the product of anything but might.''
| bard@cutter.ssd.loral.com |                           -- Mark Twain
+---------------------------+  

Newsgroups: talk.abortion