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Pastor arrested at gay pride festival (Handed out flyer: Homosexuality is a sin)
kansas.com ^ | 06.30.08 | DANIEL MCCOY

Posted on 07/01/2008 7:23:43 PM PDT by Coleus

For the second consecutive year, a gay pride parade and festival was marked by the arrest of a Wichita pastor.
But for the vast majority of those who gathered Sunday afternoon at Naftzger Park for the event, the day was one of celebration. "It means a lot to me," said Ken Gehmlich, president of Wichita Pride, which sponsors the annual event. "I think it's great that we can come together as family." Organizers estimated that about 100 people walked in the parade and that more than 1,000 attended the festival, which featured live music and vendors. After the parade traversed a parking lot near the intersection of Main and English to the festival grounds, the group encountered a familiar face.
 
Pastor Mark Holick of Spirit One Christian Center and around 20 of his church's members had gathered near the park to distribute religious literature and express their belief that homosexuality is a sin.
 
"We expected him to be here," said Thomas Witt, vice president of Wichita Pride. Holick was arrested at last year's event on a charge of criminal trespassing, which was later dropped. In January, Holick filed a federal lawsuit against the city, claiming his free speech rights had been violated.  On Sunday, according to witnesses, Holick and other Spirit One members had entered the park and were attempting to hand out their literature.
 
Because the Pride organization had rented the park, it had the right to refuse entrance to anyone, Witt and police said. Holick and the others were asked to leave.
 
Protesters were allowed to congregate on the adjacent public sidewalks, provided their actions did not constitute disorderly conduct, added Sgt. Lem Moore of the Wichita Police Department. Police said witnesses told them that upon exiting, Holick removed his $5 admission button, asked for his money back and threw it at Witt, striking him in the arm. The incident was witnessed by several bystanders, including one who captured it on a hand-held video recorder Moore said. Witt decided to press charges. Holick was arrested on suspicion of battery, police said.
 
"At that point we took the individual into custody," Moore said.  Some Spirit One members expressed anger over Holick's arrest. Others hoped the incident wouldn't overshadow the group's reason for protesting. "We're not against the people. We just disagree with the lifestyle," said member John McDonald said. For Bruce McKinney, who helped organize the first such parade in 1990, the protest and Holick's arrest did nothing to dampen the mood of celebration.
"Everybody I've talked to loved the park and loved the event," he said. "I really feel like it was a phenomenal day."


TOPICS: Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; US: Kansas
KEYWORDS: 1stamendment; firstamendment; freespeech; gayprideparade; homosexualagenda; markholick; moralabsolutes; pastor; wichita
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To: Coleus

Are we talking Wichita.... KANSAS!?


41 posted on 07/01/2008 9:26:16 PM PDT by fwdude (If marriage can mean anything, then marriage means nothing.)
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To: Thinkin
The pastor took a button and threw it and it hit the other guys arm... A Button for gods sake... A BUTTON !!!

Dude, that's misdemeanor battery. Look it up. I'm entirely sympathetic to the pastor's free speech rights and to what he was saying. But he was stupid and did his cause a disservice when he threw the button.

The cops wanted him gone. He gave them the perfect excuse.

42 posted on 07/01/2008 9:30:27 PM PDT by ModelBreaker
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To: B-Chan
3. Homosexual intercourse is a sin. So is remarriage after divorce. So is playing with oneself. So is the use of artificial birth control. Why is it that we Christians spend so much time and energy objecting to the first sin and less on the others? It can’t be that gay sex is worse than other sins — divorce and contraception in particular cause far more damage to society (and to human beings) than does b-—f-——g.

This ranks as one of the top 10 idiotic posts I've ever seen on FR. And I am Catholic.

43 posted on 07/01/2008 10:09:33 PM PDT by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: ikka
Homosexuality is a direct attack on the family and society, in a way that divorce (as bad as it is) and birth control is not.

LOL WUT??

Divorce (by breaking the God-ordained bond between husband and wife) and contraception (by acting to alienate the act of conjugal love from human life) are far more destructive to the institution of the family than is homosexual intercourse. Homosexual acts are by definition outside of and unrelated to family life; divorce is the murder of a family, while contraception is in direct contravention to God's command to be fruitful and multiply.

Society can survive any amount of gay sex, but it cannot survive without families and children, which are destroyed by divorce and contraception.

44 posted on 07/01/2008 10:37:20 PM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
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To: buccaneer81

I’d be happy to point out the relevant portions of the Catechism to you.


45 posted on 07/01/2008 10:39:58 PM PDT by B-Chan (Catholic. Monarchist. Texan. Any questions?)
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To: B-Chan

“Why is it that we Christians spend so much time and energy objecting to the first sin. . .”

I think it’s because the homosexual groups are militant, and forcing social acceptance through our schools, military, and laws.

The other “sins” you mentioned (I am not sure myself about all of them, but whatever) are not being promoted with flags on the street, newspaper editorials, big fat parades, etc.


46 posted on 07/01/2008 11:00:16 PM PDT by Marie2 (It's time for a ban on handgun bans)
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To: ikka

Actually, I’d take issue with you and say that divorce, save for abuse, desertion or adultery, is a direct attack on the family.

It’s because so many heterosexuals have made a joke of marriage that the homosexual marriage movement has gotten as far as it has.


47 posted on 07/01/2008 11:01:41 PM PDT by Marie2 (It's time for a ban on handgun bans)
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To: Manfred the Wonder Dawg

The article reports actions by the pastor that are wrong - he went beyond handing out literature. I agree with his point of view - the Bible is clear about that. I disagree with the park being off-limits; renting out a government owned facility doesn’t turn it into private property. The pastor, as all Christians, should behave himself. Throwing something - even if it was harmless - displays arrogance. Not good for the Christians to behave in such a fashion.”

That is a good point. It does not matter what people believe. However, Religion does not excuse harassment.


48 posted on 07/01/2008 11:03:40 PM PDT by punster
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To: B-Chan
1. He shouldn’t have thrown anything at anybody.

No, that is battery. It's illegal, and anyone who defends it is just as wrong. We should "keep our hands to ourselves", just as we should have learned in kindergarten.

2. He was crashing a private event.

Yes, it seems that he was.

3. Homosexual intercourse is a sin. So is remarriage after divorce. So is playing with oneself. So is the use of artificial birth control. Why is it that we Christians spend so much time and energy objecting to the first sin and less on the others? It can’t be that gay sex is worse than other sins — divorce and contraception in particular cause far more damage to society (and to human beings) than does b-—f-——g.

Perhaps because, as the Bible advises us, it is often easier to point out the mote than it is to remove the beam? "Any why seest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye; and seest not the beam that is in thy own eye?" Matthew 7:3

We are all sinners; the Gospel is a gift of love from one sinner to another, not a missile to be thrown at people. While I sympathize with those who desire to evangelize homosexuals, I do not see how being a dick brings them any closer to Christ — the only Hope any of us have.

This.

49 posted on 07/01/2008 11:26:36 PM PDT by mountainbunny
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To: buccaneer81

I agree. B-Chan must be a little light in the loafers to provide such a worthless post.


50 posted on 07/02/2008 6:16:29 AM PDT by ohioman
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To: buccaneer81

I agree. B-Chan must be a little light in the loafers to provide such a worthless post.


51 posted on 07/02/2008 6:16:29 AM PDT by ohioman
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To: buccaneer81

I agree. B-Chan must be a little light in the loafers to provide such a worthless post.


52 posted on 07/02/2008 6:16:31 AM PDT by ohioman
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To: ohioman; buccaneer81; B-Chan

I thought B-Chan made a valid point. Could either of you explain why you disagree with him?


53 posted on 07/02/2008 6:49:03 AM PDT by timm22 (Think critically)
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To: Sherman Logan
FWIW, the maximum acceptance of open homosexuality coincided in time with the high point of both the Greek and Roman civilizations.

Do you have a source for this point?

54 posted on 07/02/2008 7:03:29 AM PDT by ikka
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To: B-Chan

Divorce does not say “the nuclear family is an outdated notion, and any two or more adults of whatever gender, who claim to love each other, constitute a family”.


55 posted on 07/02/2008 7:05:11 AM PDT by ikka
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To: Alouette
Was the Phelps gang picketing this gay event or do they only do their thing at military funerals?

They weren't getting very famous doing gay funerals, and I think many sympathic people were willing to look the other way as long as they were just doing those. The military funeral bit is relatively recent. It got them far more famous, but pretty much eliminated their sympathy base.

56 posted on 07/02/2008 7:38:50 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: TheBattman
Umm.... battery, for a little button thrown at someone (hitting the person in the arm)?

It was just an excuse to arrest him for non-PC speech. I doubt the charges will go anywhere, but it was enough to remove him from the area so he can't exercise his First Amendment rights.

57 posted on 07/02/2008 7:42:08 AM PDT by antiRepublicrat
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To: timm22; B-Chan
Remarriage after divorce is what I'm pointing out. My first wife and I were married in The Church. After 10 years of marriage, she fooled around at work and walked. Our son was four at the time. She filed for divorce. I tried to hold the marriage together, but she wanted out.

So where did that leave me with the Church? Basically, hung out to dry unless I sought an annulment. Well, why the hell should I have to jump through hoops because the Vatican wants some documentation? I did nothing wrong, but just as in civil law, it's hassle, time and money coming out of me. No thanks.

I remarried outside the Church a few years ago. I have no regrets.

58 posted on 07/02/2008 9:03:01 AM PDT by buccaneer81 (Bob Taft has soiled the family name for the next century.)
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To: Coleus

B-1 Bob Dornan told the story that it was homosexual code to ask “if you have ever been to Emerald City”. It was a way for homosexuals to make contact in a straight environment. Continuing on the Wizard of Oz allusion, one has to say as Dorothy said to ToTo “we aren’t in Kansas anymore”, and it looks as though Wichita has become Emerald City.


59 posted on 07/02/2008 9:12:11 AM PDT by Biblebelter
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To: ikka

It is pretty well established that the institution of pederasty was at its high point of acceptance during what is generally considered the greatest period of Greek civilization - from the battle of Marathon to conquest by Alexander. Perhaps the greatest of all Greek generals, Epaminondas, created the institution of the Sacred Band, 300 openly homosexual lovers whom he used as shock troops, very successfully, I might add.

Homosexuality in Rome was probably most accepted during the first two centuries AD, with several Emperors such as Calugula and Hadrian being very open about their practices. This period has generally also been considered the high point of the Empire by most historians, with Gibbon only one of a very long line.

After this period, acceptance decreased, with the Christian emperors instituting the death penalty for sodomy, burning alive if I remember correctly.

Unlike some homosexual activists, I do not claim that the open acceptance of homosexual practices caused these civilizations to peak at this time. Correlation does not equal causation.

However, if homosexuality being accepted = automatic decline and fall, you sure can’t tell it from the history of these two cultures.

Caligula and Commodus are two flaming examples of bisexuality and bad government.The empire collapsed several hundred years after these guys, often used as examples of the horrible nature of homosexually dominated governments.

OTOH, Hadrian was apparently a confirmed faggot and he is generally accepted as an excellent emperor.


60 posted on 07/02/2008 9:17:30 AM PDT by Sherman Logan (Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves. - A. Lincoln)
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