KnowThyNeighbor.org

KnowThyNeighbor Accused of Preventing Dialogue

Pressure tactics subvert dialogue

Gloucester Daily Times Editorial

Those who call for parents to be allowed to know what their children are being taught in public school are purveyors of "hate speech."

That is the absurd message from Know Thy Neighbor, a pro-gay marriage group that, sadly, relies on intimidation rather than dialogue to promote its dogmatic philosophy that anybody who disagrees is a "hater."

Sadder still, the group's intimidation tactics have now shut down a chance for dialogue in Gloucester between those of different views.

Cape Ann Marriage and Family, a group that has been active in seeking a statewide referendum on gay marriage, had planned a meeting this Saturday at Valentino's, a Main Street pizza parlor, that was to feature a lecture by David Parker of Lexington.

Parker is suing the state for the right to be notified when issues regarding sexuality, including gay marriage, are taught in his young son's school. His case was initially dismissed but is on appeal.

His complaint arose in 2005, when his 5-year-old son came home from school with a children's book that portrayed families headed by same-sex couples.

This, in the view of Know Thy Neighbor's Tom Lang, of Manchester, means that Parker finds "the mere existence of gay people" to be harmful to children - a vast distortion of Parker's complaint.

Lang contacted Armando Marnoto, co-owner of Valentino's, and told him that if the restaurant hosted the meeting, Know Thy Neighbor might organize a protest.

There is some dispute about why the event will not happen there. Marnoto says it is because Cape Ann Marriage and Family had not confirmed the event or made a deposit. The group says it was due to pressure from Know Thy Neighbor.

But the Know Thy Neighbor tactic is typical. During the petition drive seeking to put gay marriage on the ballot, the group posted on its Web site the names of those who signed the petition. Lang claimed this had nothing to do with intimidation - a laughable assertion, since the whole idea was to help gay marriage advocates accuse any neighbors who supported the referendum of being haters.

Lang and others who object to Parker's message have every right to protest and oppose that message. But if they truly think they have a convincing case to make, they could do it much better by arguing the merits, rather than waving signs that hurl blanket epithets at those who disagree with them.

The glory of free speech is hearing all sides of an issue, not trying to shout down one side or another with absurd insults.

One wonders what Lang would do if his own young son came home with a book from school that declared that the only legitimate families were those headed by a father and a mother. Surely he would demand to know what his son was being taught, so he could argue his own case.

The issue, on the surface, is about gay marriage. But the deeper issue is parental rights. The topics could be war and peace, the environment, gun control or any of a host of others.

Does Know Thy Neighbor really think parents should have no right to know what their children are being taught in school? If so, that is a debate well worth having.

It is sad that it won't happen because some would rather intimidate than debate.

______________________________________________________________________

Important To Write Letters to the Editor

To Explain to All What Dialogue Is Really All About 

Tom Lang, Director Know Thy Neighbor

David Parker Cancels Appearance, Blames KnowThyNeighbor

Speech cancelled amid questions of 'hate speech' versus 'free speech'

By Kristen Grieco , Staff writer
Gloucester Daily Times

A speech by a "parental rights" activist in Gloucester has been canceled after a gay marriage advocacy group threatened to protest what it deemed "hate speech."

Cape Ann Marriage and Family, which characterizes itself as "pro-family" and has been active in advocating for a popular vote on gay marriage, had planned a meeting at a Main Street pizza parlor featuring a lecture by David Parker of Lexington.

Parker is suing the state for the right to be notified when issues of sexuality, including gay marriage, are discussed in his young son's school. The case was initially dismissed but is on appeal.

Parker first raised the issue in 2005, when his 5-year-old son came home with a children's book promoting diversity that included illustrations of families headed by same-sex couples. He was later arrested for trespassing after refusing to leave his son's school after a meeting with school officials.

Parker's scheduled appearance Saturday at Valentino's caught the attention of the Manchester-based group Know Thy Neighbor, which has published the names and addresses of people who signed a petition opposing gay marriage. The group accused Cape Ann Marriage and Family of promoting "hate speech."

"How I interpret (Parker's position) is that the mere existence of gay people, they find harmful to children," said Tom Lang, cofounder of Know Thy Neighbor and a Manchester resident.

On Monday, Lang said that he was in contact with Armando Marnoto, co-owner of Valentino's, and had told him that if the meeting went ahead, Know Thy Neighbor might stage a protest.

Parker and Jonathan Ring, chairman of Cape Ann Marriage and Families and organizer of the event, said that they were disappointed by the cancellation, which they blamed on pressure put on Marnoto by Know Thy Neighbor.

"This is a very common ploy of the pro-homosexual movement to stifle free speech," said Parker. "When they find out that there is going to be some kind of public event where they do not approve of the speech, they label it as hate speech before they've heard it and they threaten a protest."

Parker called Know Thy Neighbor's tactics "intimidation and harassment" and a violation of his free speech rights. He said he planned to pursue a complaint of a civil rights violation with the district attorney.

"I think what Tom Lang is doing is hate speech," Parker said. "He's making accusations of hate speech before he's even heard it. He's the one who hates free speech."

Marnoto told a Times reporter on Monday that the event was not being held at Valentino's but said it was because Ring had failed to call back to confirm the event or pay a $100 deposit.

But Ring said Tuesday the event had been cancelled due to the negative publicity a protest by Know Thy Neighbor would have generated for Valentino's.

"I understand the decision of Valentino's," Ring said on Tuesday. "They do what is right for their clientele, and I think they should be commended for that."

Ring said Parker might still appear in Gloucester, but at a private venue that would not be open to the public or the media.

Ring said he was never contacted by Know Thy Neighbor to join the dialogue, which he said he would have welcomed.

"I certainly would have attended, if I had been invited," Lang said.

Since his arrest in Lexington, Parker said, he has given a number of interviews and lectures about his "pro-parental rights" views.

Parker said he was not being paid for his appearance in Gloucester and was "simply a motivated father."

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To Write a Letter to The Editor  Use On-line Form

Tom Lang, Director

Clock is Ticking for Oregon Signature Gatherers

September 19, 2007 radio interview on KUOW.

 

Aaron Toleos

Republican Mayor "Comes Out" for Gay Marriage

Jerry Sanders, San Diego's Republican mayor, reverses his opinion on gay marriage in a tearjerker of a press conference.

Read more here.

Aaron Toleos

Three Provincetown Hate Crimes Are Under Investigation

The Cape Cod Times Exposes Three Incidents Currently Under Investigation By Provincetown Police As Potential Hate Crimes Indicating that 2007 Was NOT "The Summer of Love" for This "Gay Friendly" Vacation Community

In today's Cape Cod Times, Mary Ann Bragg, staff writer, reports that there are currently THREE possible hate crimes under investigation by the Provincetown Police Department.   

Bragg's Article reads...Off-Cape resident Richard Hall, a gay man, was allegedly assaulted at around 12:45 a.m. on Sept. 10 near Court and Commercial streets after being called a "faggot."

A second gay man, Daniel Coburn, 42, of East Hartford, Conn., has told police he and others were called "faggots" by a young man on June 30, also near Court and Commercial streets. The alleged perpetrator also pushed other people, threatened Coburn and threw rocks at others, according to Coburn.

In the third incident under police scrutiny, two gay men were allegedly hit with bikes in late August by a group of local youths, Provincetown police Sgt. Carrie Lopes said.

If this information is not disturbing enough, the Cape Cod Times article goes on to say that Provincetown's last official "hate crime" was in 2004, down from 21 in 1991, according to town records and police.  Sgt. Lopes told the Cape Cod Times that Provincetown averages about five hate incidents a year. 

When KnowThyNeighbor first reported on the Gay-Bashing of Richard Hall last week, we drew heavy criticism from a small publication, The Cape Codder.  In the article, Steve Desroches devotes over half of his column space to presenting inaccuracies in my reporting (inaccuracies which I owned in my blog post) and to defending the Provincetown Police Department.  Desroches writes, "Aside from the crime that occured, the false information and innuendo that circulated has done significant damage to the reputation of the town and the police department." "Aside from the crime that occured?"!!!

I certainly can understand the need to discuss the role of bloggers in the world of journalism in this very powerful medium known as the internet, so Steve Desroches certainly has the right to question me, listen to my recorded audio with of the victim and ask how KnowThyNeighbor became the first point of contact and reaching out for Mr. Hall when it seemed to him that no one, especially the police, had his best interests in mind (of course Desroches did not contact me or ask for a statement).  But what I don't understand is the "Circle the Wagons" mentality of some people in Provincetown and the police presumably fueled by the fear of losing the bottom line $$$$. 

I want nothing better than to believe that LGBT people are safe in Provincetown.  I want to believe that the health and well-being of one solitary individual trumps the almighty dollar. I want to believe that the Provincetown Police do their job. I want to believe that the gay community has has a place to turn in times of crisis. I want to believe that the press shows the highest integrity. I want to believe that there aren't young people in Provincetown calling gay men faggots and causing them harm.  I want to believe that what happened to Richard Hall could never happen to me or to my husband, especially in a town like Provincetown.

I want to believe in alot of things...

Tom Lang, Director

 

Provincetown Banner Breaks The Hate Crime Story

Assault case may escalate into hate crime

PROVINCETOWN — A violent assault against a gay man a week ago may be reclassified as a hate crime.

Provincetown police are waiting for more details of the assault on Richard Hall of New Bedford, which occurred at approximately 2 a.m. Sept. 10. Hall told the Banner and Don Gorton, chair of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, that he remembers leaving Spiritus Pizza early Sunday morning and seeing three young males across the street. When one of them called him a “faggot,” Hall said he responded with a derogatory remark. As he continued walking east on Commercial Street, Hall remembers being attacked before losing consciousness.

“The next thing I recall is something hitting me really hard on the back of my head. Then there is an entire memory lapse that spans maybe 12 hours,” Hall said.

According to the police report, Hall was found staggering out of the beach access path next to Bubala’s by the Bay by two men at approximately 2:30 a.m., who called police. When an officer arrived he called the rescue squad, which treated Hall at the scene. Hall then refused further medical treatment, according to the report. Police called a friend of Hall’s, who did not answer the telephone, and Hall was left with the two men while three Provincetown police officers searched the beach and surrounding area.

According to the police report, Hall made no mention to the officers of being called “faggot,” saying only that he remembered three males but could not describe them. Since then, Hall said he remembers the three were good-looking men between the ages of 17-22.

Hall believes he was knocked unconscious and dragged along the sand to the beach, which would explain the facial abrasions he suffered. His pants pockets were full of sand but his wallet with approximately $200 in it was untouched.

Hall was treated and released at a local hospital the next day in New Bedford. He went in for a second MRI Tuesday.

Acting Police Chief Warren Tobias said he did not initially treat the assault as a hate crime because Hall did not tell police about recalling the derogatory remark. In a telephone call the next day between Hall and police Officer Paul Joudrey, who responded to the call the night before, Hall did not mention the remark or offer any new descriptions of the assailants. At the end of the call, a recording of which was played for the Banner, he thanked Joudrey for his assistance at the scene.

Hall said he does not remember speaking with police either at the scene or in the follow-up phone call to Joudrey. He said he was upset that police told him there was little they could do without a description of the alleged assailants. He said he has little memory of driving home at sunrise to his home in New Bedford and criticized police for letting him leave without additional medical attention.

“I was in no condition to make any determination on my own, much less drive two hours to New Bedford,” he said.

Gorton said memory lapse is common in head injuries, particularly bias crimes.

“Please be aware that the victim suffered a serious head trauma and partial memory loss. He doesn’t remember the phone message thanking the police. He doesn’t remember driving home to New Bedford. ... Head injuries are insidious, and are characteristic of the ‘overkill’ violence presented with hate crimes,” Gorton said in an e-mail to the Banner.

Chief Tobias said the investigating officers’ hands are tied until Hall comes forward with any new information. If Hall does recall being called a “faggot,” it “changes the complexion of the incident,” Tobias said.

“It could change it to be a hate crime. But we don’t have any evidence if it’s a hate crime rather than an assault and battery,” he said. “It’s our responsibility to reach out to him and we are. But if he has new information, it’s his responsibility to call us.”

“The Provincetown police have not interviewed the victim since he recovered his full mental faculties, to the extent he has,” Gorton said. “He has no memory of what he may have told them in a state of delirium. Since they have not investigated this serious crime, of course they don’t know as much as they should. That’s my basic point.”

The last time a hate crime was reported in Provincetown was in June 2004 when a gay man was beaten outside of the Governor Bradford bar. There have been multiple complaints of hate incidents this summer, usually revolving around derogatory remarks but where no physical violence was reported.
[email protected]

Discrepancies in the Recent Provincetown Assault of a Gay Man--Or Are They?

Provincetown Police Provide Additional Information To the September 10th, 2007 Assault on Gay Man, However, One Question Still Remains Unanswered, "Is Enough Being Done to Find the Perpetrators?"   

Since KnowThyNeighbor published its post Is Provincetown Safe For Gays? alot more information has come to light, not just to us but to the victim of the assault also.  I called this current blog post "Discrepancies In the Recent Provincetown Assault of a Gay Man--Or Are They" for a reason.  No one, including the police, are denying that a very serious assault did occur to a man around 12:30 AM on Monday September 10th, in Provincetown near the beach in the vicinity of Spiritus Pizza.  The positive evidence indicates (which you can see from the photos of the victim) that there does exist head injury--major swelling to the victim's face, temple region and large area abrasions circumnavigating the victim's face.  The Provincetown Police Dept. Incident Report, which KTN has, reads, "Rescue/Assault" and "facial lacerations/abraisions" and "w/victim stating he was assaulted 30 min's ago in the allyway by Bubala's between Comm'l St and the beach" and "has the victim assaulted by 3 young males."

KnowThyNeighbor's Tom Lang, spoke to Provincetown Chief of Police, Warren Tobias today.  He admits to only having been told of this incident 2 days ago (7 days after the assault) and is concerned about mis-information in the blogosphere.  I assured him that KTN's motive from the moment we received word of the assault was to make sure that the victim was getting the proper advocacy and that the perpetrators were found.  Chief Tobias understood my being distraught at the fact that 1) when I called the Provincetown Police last weekend, no one could tell me if there was an active investigation or if there was an active search for the men who assaulted the victim 2) Spiritus Pizza (near where the incident occurred had not been contacted by the police nor had any other establishment in the area of the crime 3) the town manager's office could not answer if there was an investigation either.  My concern is also that no one else in Provincetown would become a victim of these three men.  But Chief Tobias assures me that now that he is on the case, that there is an active, on-going investigation.

So I had some questions of my own for Chief Tobias.  Did he doubt that the victim was indeed assaulted?  Absolutely not.  Does he think the Provincetown Police are doing enough to find the perps?  They are doing all they can do based on the information.  But what about the two "mystery men" who called the police and were with the victim when the police responded (as per the incident report)?  Who were they, why were no names or cell numbers or testimonies taken by the responding officers?  Answer, we are investigating that ourselves, I cannot say if we did or didn't take a statement from these men, the officer who would know that hasn't been in for a while... (note: the victim has no idea who these two men are or that they called the police) 

Chief Tobias' greatest concern is that the victim needs to meet with the Provincetown Police again in person to give them any more information that he remembers to assist in the investigation.  I explained to Chief Tobias that the head injury that the victim received in this assault may very well be the reason why the victim suffered from short-term memory loss, had blacked out and was able then to speak and deny himself medical attention (evidently, medical personal did show up at the scene of the assault).  I recounted to the Chief my first telephone conversation with the victim in which I was told that he cannot remember many of the details immediately following the blow to his right temple and that he only fully gained control over his cognitive capabilities after having found himself in his car halfway home to New Bedford.  The victim said it hit him hard to realize not only what had happened to him and how vulnerable he was for at least an hour of "black out" but that he had driven his car from Ptown to Barnstable without knowing that he was doing it.

So let me clear up some of the mis-information brought to my attention by Chief Tobias.  The victim was not found on the beach but on a bench in front of Spiritus Pizza.  There is an alley across the street from Spiritus which leads directly to the beach.  The victim was offered medical treatment but refused it (anyone can refuse medical treatment when asked, it isn't a mandatory procedure).  The next day, the victim called the Provincetown Police and was not told that "it is best just to leave it alone" as was reported on KTN as a statement by the victim (the chief listened to the recorded conversation).

According to KTN's interviews with the victim himself...the victim did not remember having refused medical help on the scene.  He did not remember having told the police at the scene anything about his attackers (the police incident report read "victim was assaulted by 3 young males).  Now, this is very important, the victim did not remember his conversation with the police at the scene of the crime immediately following his head trauma resulting from the attack.  He does and did however, remember the nature of the attack and a basic description of the attackers, age, hair color, number.  We can only speculate why the victim suffered from memory loss of events occuring immediately from the time of head trauma to approximately an hour after the head trauma but it does not take much to deduce that maybe it had something to do with "the head trauma."

Chief Tobias agreed to email KTN with a press statement (rec'd by KTN 9-20-07:

Hi Tom - Thanks for the positive discussion yesterday. I would like for it to be known that the Provincetown Police Department takes Hate crimes very seriously, as we do all crimes. In this particular instance we are doing everything that we can to conduct a professional and responsible investigation. To that end we have made contact with the victim and are attempting to gather more information. Again, I appreciate your concern and please feel free to contact me should you have any questions or information to pass on. Thanks.  Warren )

He is looking forward to interviewing the victim in person and is looking for the attackers.  The Provincetown Police are investigating business webcams as we suggested in our first blog.  Chief Tobias said that we (KnowThyNeighbor) should be applauded for the advocacy work we do.  KnowThyNeighbor hopes to applaud Chief Tobias and the Provincetown Police when they find the perpetrators of this senseless attack.

Tom Lang, Co-Director

**I helped Chief Tobias navigate the KTN blog while I was on the phone with him.  He had not yet seen the "before" photo of the victim, only the "after" photo.  When Chief Tobias scrolled down and viewed the photo of the victim (taken 18 hours before the attack) Chief Tobias said, "he doesn't look like the same person."**

Is Provincetown Safe For Gays ?

Last Monday's Alleged Gay Bashing in Provincetown Together With Other Recent Incidents of Police Mis-Handling and Anti-Gay Biases Have Gays Questioning Whether Provincetown is Really Safe

Most LGBT people would think twice about travelling to vacation spots known to be unsafe for gay people.  These would include the Island of Jamaica which has all but told gays not to think about visiting, many Muslim countries where gay men are arrested for being "flamboyant" or found in gay clubs and even now Russia, where anti-gay hostility in Moscow has lead to riots and arrest of gay visitors.  But should Provincetown, Massachusetts, once known as the gay Mecca and land of tolerance be added to the list of destinations unsafe for gays?

Think about it, you are a middle aged gay man visiting Provincetown.  You decide to end your evening by buying a pizza at Spiritus on Commercial Street.  You leave this well-known pizza parlor around 12:30 AM and as you walk down the street, you come face to face with three men, one of whom calls you a "faggot."  You react, as many of us would, especially since you are in a town where this is not supposed to happen, with a "smart" comeback.  In this case, something to the like of, "shut up pencil dick."  Thinking, "I sure told them," you continue your walk and within seconds you feel a blow to your right temple and hear a hollow echo as the world around you begins to close in on you.  The last thing you think to yourself before you lose consciousness is "this is it, it's over..." 

About an hour later you are awakened by the Provincetown Police on the beach as they were responding to an anonymous phone call to the station.  Your face covered with abrasions which gives the impression that you were forcefully dragged.  Your cargo shorts have pockets full of sand.  Your wallet is intact with over $200 still in it.  You try to recount for Officer Joudrey, who took the report, what happened.  You are able to remember coming out of Spiritus Pizza, being called a faggot and the horrific blow to the side of your head.  Your face is covered in blood and you tell the officer that you cannot, for the life of you, remember how you got to the beach.  The police take your report (listed as an assault on the formal police report), do not call medical help for you even though you are clearly exhibiting signs of head trauma but release you to drive your car back home to New Bedford. 

Around 12 noon the next day, you admit yourself to St. Luke's Hospital in New Bedford.  At immediate sight, the orderly puts you in a wheelchair, administers an IV, and puts a neck collar around you in response to the obvious head trauma.  You are asked when this happened to you.  You respond, "around 12 hours ago."  You are told by the doctor "that is when you should have gone to the hospital, 12 hours ago." 

What the HELL is going on in Provincetown?  We want to know.  KnowThyNeighbor has a call into Sgt. Lopes who is "handling the case" and will provide a follow-up when we hear.  The Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project also is demanding to know if an investigation is active and if the perpetrators are being sought.  The victim asked the officer who found him what the police are going to do about this in a telephone call and was allegedly told, "there is nothing we can do because you told us that you couldn't identify the three men that did this, so it is best to leave it alone."

Up until yesterday at around 2pm, the brother of the owner of Spiritus Pizza, Carl Yingling, was unaware of any incident near his establishment.  So it seems that the police did not contact Spiritus or check out its webcam to see if any of this was recorded that evening. 

So if a bonifide gay bashing and hate crime doesn't get the Provincetown Police's attention, what does? Let's see, in July 2006, when anti-gay marriage petition signer and Provincetown Trolley owner, Yvonne Cabral gets called a "bigot" by Rick Hines in the local supermarket, that prompts an international press frenzy, the then Chief Ted Meyer to call a meeting of the "No Place For Hate" Committee and a criminal complaint and trial against Mr. Hines.  And in July 2007, when the same Yvonne Cabral calls the police to complain twice about a party being held a mile away from her house, the police certainly responded.  As you might remember this incident last July when the police arrested celebrity DJ Barry Scott, threw him up against a wall and charged him with inciting a riot because he announced to party goers that the police want the party shut down and want to wreck their time.  Multiple complaints against the Provincetown police were filed.

Hate crimes, gay bashing, police brutality, overly zealous harassment of gays by local trouble makers, biases, preferential treatment, possible cover-ups??  Forget the "No Place For Hate" bumper stickers, if Provincetown doesn't get its act together, the bumper stickers will read, "No Place for Gays."

**If you wonder what the victim of Monday's gay bashing looked like before the assault, see the below photo which he sent KTN--it was taken a day before the attack**

Tom Lang, Director

To Contact Provincetown Manager,
Sharon Lynn [email protected]

To Contact Provincetown Police Chief,
Warren Tobias [email protected] 

With Regards to Leadership Mass Republican Party Shows No Leadership

Rob Willington, Ex-Director of VoteOnMarriage, Appointed Executive Director of the Massachusetts Republican Party

So, here you have it, Rob Willington, who led the failed VoteOnMarriage attempt to put discrimination in the Massachusetts Constitution and who in a VOM email blast referred to gays and their families as "evil" has been made Executive Director of the Massachusetts Republican Party. 

In the Boston Globe story,  Mass GOP Chairman, Peter Torkildsen, lauds Willington calling him "a capable and innovative leader" and one whom he (Torkildsen) "can count on in our (the GOP's) efforts to grow the grassroots, and return two-party competition to Massachusetts." 

I love the word, "innovative."  It was innovative for VoteOnMarriage to use the deceptive practices of Arno Political Consultants in order to dupe and lie its way to becoming the sponsors of "the most successful petition drive in Massachusetts history."  It was "innovative" to know and I would allege "suggest" that the signature gatherers use the "Beer and Wine" petition to bait and switch countless Massachusetts voters in the Fall of 2005.  And it was "innovative" to copy these tactics to use other means of bait and switch to obtain signatures on the anti-same-sex marriage petition by duping voters with the dog protection petition and photos of dogs in cages, an elderly healthcare petition, using candidate sheets at town meetings and providing fake "pro" same-sex marriage petitions.  All of these tactics are documented by firsthand accounts of Massachusetts voters sent to Know Thy Neighbor in emails and affidavits.  Peter Torkildsen does not fully inderstand just how "innovative" Rob Willington may actually be.

But what really is the issue here is that Rob Willington would dare call a group of people "evil" in order to get signatures on a petition.  And that the Massachusetts Republican Party would elevate a person in a leadership role such as this when that person is so ignorant that he has no idea what this sort of demonization directly does to this group of fellow human beings, let alone of how some parts of our society would react against LGBT when they begin to believe his statement. 

Peter Torkildsen should be ashamed of himself as much as Rob Willington should.  This Commonwealth deserves better than either of these men seem to be able to offer it and, in like regard, so does the Republican Party.

Tom Lang, Director

**KnowThyNeighbor has asked the Republican Leadership in the House and Senate as well as Republican Senators and Representatives who showed leadership in the defeat of VoteOnMarriage's, Rob Willington's and the State GOP's discriminatory amendment to provide us with a statement regarding Willington's appointment.   Their statements will be posted on KTN if and when we receive them.**

When a Koch Becomes a Dick

Quincy Candidate for Mayor, Tom Koch, Tells Us Why It's Okay to Be Anti-Gay

Who would have believed it?  In Quincy, the home of John Adams, the drafter of the Massachusetts Constitution which protects "everyone" (including LGBT) and the city on the South Shore with the most registered same-sex marriages to date, there is actually a mayoral candidate, Tom Koch, who would dare suggest that his "personal belief" (otherwise known as bigotry, homophobia, ignorance, prejudice or political opportunism) somehow trumps Constitutionally protected rights of his fellow citizens and their families.

In his letter which can be found on the Quincy for Marriage Equality website, Koch begins with what could be seen as a hollow threat to voters or organizations who would question his name's appearance on KnowThyNeighbor's list of signers of the VoteOnMarriage petition.  Here Tom Koch writes:

"The teachings of my upbringing and faith frame my belief that marriage exists between a man and a woman, and I will not try to spin that belief for political purposes. But the fact is, it has nothing to do with being mayor, and I will fight any attempt at character assassination that stretches this position any further than what it is: My personal belief. "

But in his second paragraph Tom Koch begins his spin, which he promised we would not see in his candidacy for mayor.  A spin that LGBT people know all to well.  A spin which tries to persuade voters and citizens and even LGBT people that Equality and Legally Protected Constitutional Rights are really just opinions, purely subjective, open for interpretation and are governed by the majority's belief of the day.  And allegedly, in Tom Koch's mind, may not really exist in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

But what I find most priceless and evident of how truly ignorant Tom Koch is and on many levels is this statement. "As mayor, I will swear to uphold the laws of the Commonwealth, and that is exactly what I intend to do.  I believe strongly that we have many issues that we need to address as neighbors and as a community- from taxes, to public safety, to traffic and over-development.  None of them are related in any way to marriage." Priceless, just priceless...

Tom Koch's campaign website, A Dick for Quincy, I mean Koch for Quincy provides an active blog (however, I challenge KnowThyNeighbor bloggers to try to comment) and Tom Koch's "vision" for a better Quincy.  But based on Tom Koch and his service to VoteOnMarriage in the very least, lending them his endorsement in signature form, I think that fair-minded, intelligent Quincy voters will see that Koch's "vision" probably does not include Equal Rights for All nor does it include a genuine understanding of what Mr. Koch so quickly put to pen that "every person should be treated equally, with respect and dignity." 

To Email Tom Koch  [email protected]

To Call Tom Koch  617-773-KOCH (5624)

Tom Lang, Director of KnowThyNeighbor 

WAVE GOODBYE, Mr. Koch