Posted on 10/30/2001 4:54:38 AM PST by Buffalo Bob
Pro-Marriage Group Asks Justice Department to Investigate
Union Officials and Homosexual Groups Distribute Opponents’ Home Addresses
The Chairman of Massachusetts Citizens for Marriage has asked the United States Attorney in Boston to investigate a move by the AFL-CIO of Massachusetts and a homosexual extremist group, Campaign for Equality, in harassing and distributing the home addresses of pro-marriage leaders to their members.
“This is designed to give pro-homosexual union members and homosexual extremists this information to harass us and our families,” said MCM Chairman Bryan G. Rudnick.
Rudnick said his group hears from union members daily who object to the AFL-CIO’s pro-homosexual stance but they had no voice in taking that position and no recourse to stop it.
“I don’t understand why the AFL-CIO is in this to begin with, but I do understand that passing around our home addresses is part of an effort to threaten and intimidate us.”
18 Home Addresses
Rudnick said the AFL-CIO distributed a flyer with the names and home addresses of 18 members of the pro-marriage leadership to union members they are attempting to recruit.
“This has been a pattern of intimidation in marriage campaigns in other states, such as Maryland, “ Rudnick said. “Six of those targeted by the AFL-CIO are women. We believe this sort of harassment needs to be nipped in the bud.”
In his letter to the United States Attorney, Rudnick said, “over the objections of many union members in Massachusetts, the AFL-CIO has allied itself with homosexual extremists who are trying to devalue marriage.”
He continued, “There is no legitimate reason for the union to distribute this other than to create a climate of fear in which those who favor traditional marriage are subjected to threats, intimidation and harassment.
“We do not believe that public policy should be formulated by using extralegal means of persuasion.
“Because the AFL-CIO is having trouble recruiting its own members to work alongside the homosexual groups, it is resorting to threats of violence.
“We believe your office and the U.S. Justice Department need to ensure that our civil rights are not violated by this threat approach of the AFL-CIO and Campaign for Equality and its allies.”
Text of Letter
Mr. Michael Sullivan
United States Attorney
Department of Justice
1 Courthouse Way, Suite 9200
Boston, MA 02210
Dear Mr. Sullivan:
I am writing you to request that you investigate the activities of the Campaign for Equality, AFL-CIO of Massachusetts and its affiliated unions concerning my organization’s efforts to gather signatures for a constitutional amendment relative to the Protection of Marriage.
Individual petitioners have reported being harassed and spat upon on several occasions by people who object to our initiative. Those who oppose our efforts are also recording the license plate numbers of individuals who circulate our petition in their efforts to intimidate our supporters.
A website, www.massequality.com, asks those viewing the site to “Report Sightings” by e-mail and telephone and it asks specifically for information regarding the exact number of pro-marriage petitioners and a description of their appearance (“tell us how many signature gatherers you saw and what they looked like”).
Last week and again this week, training sessions were held at the Hotel and Restaurant Workers union facility at 58 Berkley Street, Boston, where activists were encouraged to report the locations of signature gatherers. A flyer with the home addresses of 18 of the leaders of the pro-marriage petition was also handed out at this “training” session.
Mr. Sullivan, there is no legitimate reason for the union or activists to distribute this other than to create a climate of fear in which those who favor traditional marriage are subjected to threats, intimidation and harassment.
Over the objections of many union members here in Massachusetts, the AFL-CIO has allied itself with homosexual extremists who are trying to devalue marriage. We do not believe that public policy should be formulated by using extralegal means of persuasion.
Because the AFL-CIO is having trouble recruiting its own members to work alongside the homosexual groups, it is resorting to these desperate threats of violence, harassment and intimidation.
We believe your office and the U.S. Justice Department need to ensure that our civil rights are not violated in this “government by threat” approach of the AFL-CIO and its allies.
Please contact me if I can provide any further information or answer any questions.
Sincerely, Bryan G. Rudnick
Chairman
And some folks wonder why I call it the New Butt Order® (NBO).
Honestly, have the Unions been so blind as to who they've been supporting lo these many years?
Unions, "Reagan Democrats", those who've seen what a farce of a "Congressperson" Hillary has been, JOIN US.
There are a number of pro-life sites that post home addresses of abortionists. Courts have held that that is legal. The case you were thinking about involved more than home addresses-- there was language which the court construed as death threats-- and, although that lower court shut the site down, the court of appeals reversed that ruling.
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