It depends on who you ask. A man attended the raising of the Pride Flag in Reading (PA) last week at city hall and began to read from the Bible loudly. He disrupted the event, causing the police to warn him, and then arrest him, for disorderly conduct. The man was released by the DA who found the charges to be insufficient. If you google the event, the headlines range from “Christian man arrested for quoting the Bible” to “Lawmakers quiet about Reading Pride arrest” to “Reading City Council supports police in wake of Pride Arrest.” Some witnesses say the man seemed threatening, while others were merely annoyed by his loudness. And considering all of the violence recently against the LGBTQ community, I can understand their concern. One person said it reminded him of the Westboro Baptist Church’s disruption of military funerals.
From what I have been able to read and see and hear, this man was doing the usual hate speech that we have become accustomed to from too many conservative Christians. And while the comparison to the Westboro Baptist Church makes sense, it is also important to remember that WBC doesn’t get arrested because they stay within the confines of the law. Their free speech rights are as protected as anyone else’s, and they have smart people who give them counsel and guide their actions. Years ago, I agreed to do one of those military funerals at my church, and there was chatter about this church showing up. The police were there, but so was a motorcycle group that acts as guardian angels for these funerals. They surrounded the church to physically block any kind of disruption. They honored the rights of the dishonorable by exercising their own right to stand on the curb.
This is what should have been done in Reading. I did not know about this event until a couple of days before it happened, and many clergy and lay leaders the UCC churches were at our annual Conference meeting, so many of us couldn’t have been there. If I had known, I would have encouraged the mayor (who is a good friend, full disclosure) to wait until the next day or early in the week. We could have rallied non-haters around the event and blocked the angry rhetoric of this street preacher of hate. We could have engaged him and asked him why he was so filled with vitriol, even though he claims to worship the Prince of Peace. We could have stood together as people of faith to support our LGBTQ siblings. This is the job we embrace when we follow Jesus; we stand with – and in front of – the oppressed and abused. We don’t join the crowd doing the oppressing and abuse.
Free Speech is a right that every person enjoys in the public sphere. If we take it away from those we don’t like, we destroy the 1st Amendment. In private places (like churches, bars, and homes), we can keep people from expressing their opinion if we don’t agree with it. At city hall, though, that doesn’t fly. Either we all have rights, or none of us have rights. This is the cost of freedom.
Prayer – God, we pray for those who speak hatred and bring about chaos with vile words. Help us to remember that they too have the same rights we have, as hard as that is to stomach. Help us to work together against hatred. Amen.