More local politics. And First Amendment hatred.

Regular readers may recall Michael Marcavage, a very talented young opponent of the "homosexual agenda" who I've predicted will go far.

His latest project is to "reclaim" his town of Lansdowne, Pennsylvania from the homos and their supporters, and to that end, he has started an organization called "Reclaiming Lansdowne." According to Marcavage, Lansdowne is becoming "a haven for sexually deviant behavior, which is against state law, but most importantly, God’s law," and he's going to stop it.

....[H]istory clearly documents that the laws of our nation come from a Biblical foundation. It is this moral foundation, and the acknowledgment of God upon Whom our nation and our organic law has been established. Even earlier Congresses in 1776 and 1789, recognized that the acknowledgment of God lay at the very foundation of law and liberty in America.

If God’s law does not remain as the foundation of our laws, then any lifestyle or any action, whether perceived to be right or wrong, would be permissible. Our community, and this nation, cannot and will not survive if this foundation be destroyed. Sadly, it is happening and the consequences are evident.

The problem is, the folks in Lansdowne are not behaving in a terribly sophisticated manner, and at this point I'd say Marcavage is winning the game. As I've remarked before, he's an old hand at provoking people and getting arrested -- something he's recently done again at a Lansdowne City Council meeting. Here's the Philadelphia Gay News:

Lansdowne is the only municipality in Delaware County to have an openly gay council member, Kevin Lee. But Lansdowne also happens to be the home of Michael Marcavage, an outspoken opponent of gay rights.

Last week, tempers flared at a borough council meeting, resulting in criminal charges lodged against Marcavage, and against a council member who allegedly hit him, Elliot R. Borgman.

Marcavage was charged with disrupting a public meeting and disorderly conduct. Borgman was charged with disorderly conduct. Marcavage faces up to 15 months in jail and a $2,800 fine. Borgman faces up to 90 days in jail and a $300 fine.

The matter has been assigned to District Justice John J. Perfetti. Marcavage's hearing is set for 8:30 a.m. Sept. 23 at the Upper Darby Police Station, 7236 West Chester Pike in Upper Darby.

A court date for Borgman has not yet been set.

Marcavage is the head of Repent America, a Lansdowne-based Christian organization. He's appeared at several Philadelphia gay-pride events, and organizers of those events plan to seek a court order banning him and his followers from future events.

Marcavage says he attended the July 21 borough-council meeting to speak during the public-comment period about published statements by Lee, which Marcavage believes could encourage more gays to move into Lansdowne.
Marcavage says he doesn't want to force gay people out of Lansdowne, but he doesn't want to encourage them to move there, either. The borough has about 11,000 residents.

A few minutes into Marcavage's presentation, when he began to read from the Bible, Council President Norman Council temporarily adjourned the meeting, Marcavage says.

"I attempted to be reasonable, and to work with this council, but they have an ungodly agenda," Marcavage told PGN, after the meeting. "They were elected to represent the concerns of the community, not to become a dictatorship."

While Marcavage continued to read from the Bible, he allegedly was dragged out of the meeting room by Police Chief Daniel J. Kortan, Jr. and allegedly hit on his left shoulder by Borgman.

What Marcavage obviously wants is to create a situation documenting and giving ammo to those who fear that the Bible itself will be declared "hate speech." And, wittingly or unwittingly the Lansdowne politicians seem to be helping him right along:

"If he's going to use council to promote his hate speech, we don't wish to be a part of that," Council told PGN. "We don't want to infringe on the guy's First Amendment rights. But he was using the Bible to try to exclude a section of our population in Lansdowne."

Marcavage also expressed concern about his alleged treatment by Kortan.
"Chief Kortan forcibly pulled me from the meeting room, threw me into an elevator, and shoved me against its back wall," Marcavage said. "When I asked him about my civil rights, he came in my face and said, 'Fuck your civil rights.'"

For his part, Kortan denied mistreating Marcavage and using profanity. Kortan said Marcavage had to be removed from the meeting room so that council could proceed with its agenda.

"We want him [Marcavage] to stop with his nonsense," Kortan told PGN. "We're considering all of our options. I'm confident the council will do the right thing. They're pretty reasonable people."

Beginning in August, announcements will be made prior to the public-comment periods at borough-council meetings, informing audience members they will have a maximum of 10 minutes to address the council.
Council members hope the announcements will provide more structure to the public-comment periods.

Here's Elliot R. Borgman, the councilman accused of slugging Marcavage:

"We're very open, and welcoming of diversity. We've done many things to put Lansdowne in a good light, and Marcavage comes along and raises questions about us doing that. He has a level of sophistication at pushing the envelope."

Right now he's looking more sophisticated than his opponents. He's skillfully playing a game of guerilla theater, while his opponents oblige him by acting more like gorillas.

The Delaware County Daily Times characterizes this as a "lesson in civics":

"I don’t desire anyone who is practicing homosexuality, fornication or any other unlawful behavior, speaking biblically, to be welcomed into the community," Marcavage said in explaining his views.

Depending on who is telling the tale, Marcavage claimed his right to free speech was abridged and he was assaulted by borough Councilman Elliot Borgman and Police Chief Daniel Kortan -- or he deliberately disrupted a public meeting, precipitating a melee.

By the end of the evening, both he and Borgman were charged with disorderly conduct.

A judge will rule on the issues of law. But the situation raises other issues as well.

First, Michael Marcavage is free to express his views - religious or not - in an orderly way at a public meeting in accord with the same rules that apply to everyone else. Second, Councilman Lee is free to express his views about gay or any other issues to anyone who wants to listen or publish them. The views of both men are admittedly unpopular in some quarters -- but they have every right to share them and petition their government to adopt them.

What they don’t have the right to do is to ask for special rights that are not available to anyone else.

Being free from discrimination certainly does not belong in that category. Speaking beyond your allotted time at a public meeting surely does.

What hate has to do with any of this I am not sure. Marcavage has as much right to hate homosexuals and their supporters -- and demand that they not be welcomed in Lansdowne -- as his fellow citizens have to hate him. And they are just as free to demand publicly, say, that "anyone who is practicing fundamentalist Christianity or speaking biblically not be welcomed into Lansdowne." (Fortunately, neither side will win on the merits....)

Who ever said that free speech means love?