PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Primary Contact: Tom Lang, Co-Director
Office: (978) 768-3830
Cell: (978) 335-0477
Secondary Contact: Aaron Toleos, Co-Director
Cell: (978) 821-4620
Woman Assaulted by President of Catholic Citizenship at Worcester Rally
Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA, December 17, 2006 -- Tom Lang, director of the gay rights organization KnowThyNeighbor.org and a counter-demonstrator at Saturday's anti-gay marriage rally in Worcester, denounces the assault made by Larry Cirignano, President of Catholic Citizenship, on Sarah Loy, a 27-year-old marriage equality supporter.
As reported by the Worcester Telegram and Gazette:
"Loy... was holding a sign in defense of same-sex marriage amid a sea of green 'Let the People Vote' signs when Larry Cirignano of Canton, who heads the Catholic Citizenship group, ran into the crowd, grabbed her by both shoulders and told her, 'You need to get out. You need to get out of here right now.' Mr. Cirignano then pushed her to the ground, her head slamming against the concrete sidewalk."
Cirignano then proceeded back to the podium area where Former Ambassador to the Vatican Ray Flynn was about to speak.
Lang, who attended all four of the so-called "Democracy Rallies" held over the last week by anti-gay marriage activists, reacted by saying, "The attack on Ms. Loy was nasty and disgraceful. Mr. Cirignano should be ashamed and has shown that he doesn't belong in a leadership position."
Lang said that he wasn't totally surprised by this act of violence noting that "the rhetoric and actions of the anti-gay marriage activists has reached a fever pitch since their amendment was sidelined by the 109 legislators that voted to recess the Constitutional Convention." He notes that VoteOnMarriage.org, sponsor of the anti-gay marriage amendment, has even printed Wild West, Dead-or-Alive-style Wanted posters that have the legislators' photos and home phone numbers on them. And the legislators' home addresses have been posted on the VoteOnMarriage.org website where anti-gay marriage supporters are instructed to urge the legislators to take a vote "or face the potential consequences."
Lang finds great irony in the fact that Ms. Loy was assaulted for exercising her rights to free speech at what was supposed to be a "Democracy Rally." "This confirms what most of us already know to be true --" said Lang, "that the anti-gay marriage activists only believe in Democracy when it suits their religious agenda and not when it means protecting the civil rights of a minority."
More information is available on the KnowThyNeighbor.org blog, listed as one of the Top 25 National Gay Community Blogs by the Advocate Magazine.
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