Protestors Ultimately Want Death for Homosexuals
Texas Triangle,
March 2-8, 2001
4001 Cedar Springs Rd Ste C, Dallas TX 75219-3521
Fax: 214-599-0156
Email: letters@txtriangle.com or txtriangle@aol.com
http://www.txtriangle.com/archive/921/topstories.htm
By Matt Lum
DALLAS — A group gathered at the corner of Oak Lawn
and Cedar Springs Saturday to urge passers-by to support anti-gay and anti-gay
family bills now being considered in the Texas Legislature. The Constitution
Party of Texas (CPT) held signs that said "Steve Wolens Promotes
Homosexuality", "Defense of Marriage: HB 496 Protects
Families", and "No Homo Marriage", among others.
The men protesting, one who brought his five-year-old son to the event,
believe homosexuality should be illegal, and ultimately punishable by death in
America. They base their beliefs on the book of Leviticus in The Bible.
"Well, we know punishing homosexuals by death would be extremely hard
in today’s society," said Larry S. Kilgore, the Dallas/Ft. Worth
chairman of the Constitution Party. "But we hope that we can help to
drive it underground so in about twenty or thirty years, the punishment can
fit the crime."
Kilgore said he and his Party are upset that Representative Steven Wolens,
chair of the State Affairs committee, refuses to even allow a public debate on
HB 496 and instead will let it die in committee. "We just think he should
at least have a hearing so those who might agree with the proposition can have
a chance to be on the record in support of it," Kilgore said. "It
threatens the sanctity of marriage," they claim.
The bill was introduced by Representative Warren Chisum on Jan. 31 and was
authored along with Reps. Delwin Jones, Telford, Howard, and Counts. Chisum
was able to recruit more than 70 co-authors for his bill.
Although it is already illegal for persons of the same sex to be legally
married in Texas, this bill aims to keep Texas from being forced to recognize
same-sex marriages or civil unions performed in other states, namely Vermont.
Texas is one of the only Southern states yet to ban this recognition, a
surprising accomplishment, according to Texas’ gay and lesbian activists.
But the protest Saturday was not limited to political pontificating. The
Constitution Party was also distributing pink brochures entitled "Coming
Out of the Closet," a narrative by conservative radio host and
commentator Bob Enyart.
Enyart claims he "came out" of the closet in 1989. "I feared
my family and friends might reject me for coming out. Most of them, though,
are supportive," he says. "I explained to them that I was born this
way. I am homophobic."
Enyart also says his homophobia is genetic, as evidenced by the involuntary
reactions his body has towards homosexual stimuli. "For example, if I eat
a big meal and then see one man glance romantically into another man’s eyes
and then they kiss, I will lose my lunch," he said. "I will vomit.
It grosses me out."
He goes on to say this is a gift from God, a natural defense mechanism that
works to protect us from bodily harm. "God gave us the wonderful ability
to gag," he said. "Just like what people would do if they took a
bite out of a putrid animal carcass. Homosexuals make people gag, and as with
other defense mechanisms, homophobia is inherited."
Enyart and the Constitution Party of Texas are urging other homophobes to
come out of the closet. "Now that I have come out of the closet, my life
is more fulfilling," he claims. "I no longer harbor a deep, dark
secret."
Fueling their homophobia with Bible verses, Kilgore and CPT contend
homosexuals threaten not only he [sic] and his family, but also American
society in general. His group wears the badge of homophobia as an honor,
"just as homosexuals have accepted the terms ‘fag’ and ‘queer’."
They fear homosexual scoutmasters, noting "not one Boy Scout has ever
been heterosexually molested by a Scout Leader" and claim gay and lesbian
activists concur with such findings. They would also never take blood from a
homosexual, even if the life of their child depended on it.
The literature provided by the protestors also said that homosexuals give
"a bad rap to our country and our health system." With the threat of
AIDS, according to the protestors, the average homosexual dies at age 38, and
if he somehow manages to avoid AIDS, he will still only reach the ripe age of
41 before kicking the bucket.
The group also plans to be active in campaigning against legislation that
will protect gay and lesbian children in Texas’ schools, claiming they
already encourage students to have homosexual sex. "Of course, they deny
this, but they lie," Enyart says.
The protest Saturday lasted under an hour because officials at Centrum, an
Oak Lawn fitness center and gym, contact[ed] the Dallas Police Department (DPD).
An officer on the scene explained anyone could protest freely on city streets,
but the Constitution Party had set up their demonstration on Centrum property
and therefore could be asked to leave. A spokesperson for Centrum was adamant
about having the protestors pack up their signs as soon as possible.
During an exchange between authorities and Kilgore, DPD Officer Caldwell
asked if the protestors knew what part of town they were in. "Protesting
gays here is like going to South Dallas to protest Blacks," he told the
men.
All protestors denied ever having a homosexual experience, but say even if
they had God would have forgiven them by now.
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