A library surprise! Prop 64 demonstrators - pro and con

When I went to the Anchorage library in late June, I had no idea I was going in stumble into a hornet's nest of demonstrators, but there they were. Hundreds of them... both pro (most of whom were on the 36th Avenue side) and con (on the 37th Ave. side) ... over a proposed gay rights anti-discrimination ordinance, Prop. 64.

Since the "con" side had plenty of signs, I let their signs speak for themselves. The "pro" guys had only buttons and one little set of signs, so I stopped to talk to them.




The Anchorage Assembly overwhelmingly passed the ordinance -- even making some changes designed to address the "anti" group's concerns -- but the new Mayor, Dan Sullivan, a long-time arch conservative, not-surprisingly, vetoes it in August with just hours left before it would have taken effect had he not done so.

The Assembly, knowing it was likely one vote short of an override, declined to pursue an override vote and so the ordinance -- once again -- has gone down to defeat.

Anchorage is a fairly liberal city that once again is being held hostage to the forces of firebrand fundamentalist preachers like Jerry Prevo (Anchorage Baptist Temple) who is often characterized as Alaska's answer to Jerry Falwell ... right down to his own little church/school/homophobic empire.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Proposition 64
• Anchorage
• gay rights ordinance
• anti-discrimination
• homophobia
• demonstrators