Reprinted from The Orlando Sentinel, June 7, 1998.

Disney Gay Day Protest Fizzles

By Tim Barker, Lesley Clark and Cory Lancaster
of The Sentinel Staff

Operation Rescue churned out few protesters and did little to disrupt Gay Day at Disney's Magic Kingdom on Saturday, raising questions about the clout of a group that once could draw thousands to its banner.

Just seven protesters, trailed by a larger number of Walt Disney World security officers and media representatives, entered the park. The predicted showdown between protesters and gays fizzled to a few polite conversations.

"In spite of all the publicity and hoopla, it had the feeling of a very normal day," Disney spokesman Bill Warren said.

An estimated 100,000 people were in Orlando for the weekend festivities. Disney officials wouldn't say how many people were in Magic Kingdom, although unlike past Gay Days it didn't fill to capacity, Warren said.

Operation Rescue came to town with the hope of "saving" Orlando from homosexuality, abortion clinics and what it considers to be pornography peddled by Barnes & Noble bookstores.

But in the end, its showing was a far cry from its glory days. During its 1991 "Summer of Mercy" offensive in Wichita, Kan., more than 2,600 protesters were arrested in six weeks on charges ranging from assaulting federal marshals to loitering.

In the months following Wichita, mass arrests became commonplace at protests.

But then two things happened.

First, Operation Rescue became linked with violence, including the shooting deaths of abortion workers in Pensacola and Brookline, Mass. That, along with an aggressive protest style, has forced many would-be supporters to shy away.

"There is nobody at Operation Rescue today that is more pro-life than I am. I just don't choose to demonstrate that way," said Art Ally, who helped organized the Life Chain, a peaceful abortion protest.

Indeed, some local religious leaders were hesitant to criticize Operation Rescue, considering they share many goals.

"I don't mind the aggression as long as it stays within the law," said John Butler Book, minister at Northside Church of Christ in Maitland. "We believe, that for as long as we can, we must fight the opposition with a ballot, not a bullet."

Operation Rescue's support also has been eroded by changes in the law. Recent federal court rulings have raised the specter of federal charges -- and hefty penalties -- being leveled against protesters who try to prohibit access to abortion clinics.

"That's daunting to people who used to think they would have to spend an afternoon in jail. Now you're talking about days, weeks, months and substantial fines," said Ruth Arick, vice president of the Florida Coalition of Independent Abortion Providers.

Operation Rescue's numbers have been dwindling for years. In 1995, fewer than 100 people attended a weeklong anti-abortion demonstration in New Orleans.

The past week in Orlando was more of the same. All week, fewer than 100 protesters showed up outside abortion clinics and Barnes & Noble stores.

The numbers increased slightly Saturday morning when 120 to 140 protesters lined up along U.S. Highway 192 outside a Kissimmee hotel, where gays and lesbians were staying, and at the Walt Disney World gates leading to the Magic Kingdom.

For two hours, they brandished signs reading "What Would Walt Think" and waved to motorists, some of whom waved, honked or made obscene gestures.

Operation Rescue national leader, the Rev. Flip Benham, said a prayer for four protesters -- a man, a woman and two teenage girls wearing T-shirts that said "Jesus is the Standard" and "ProLife" -- who were going inside the Magic Kingdom to minister to homosexuals.

Already inside were three others -- including a young boy -- who videotaped the gay crowd nonstop. The videos will be used to rally support against the gay lifestyle, the protesters said.

For several hours, those inside the park approached men and women and quietly tried to convince them their lifestyle is immoral.

"You come and parade your sexual perversion in front of everyone," Bill Shanks of New Orleans said to Robert Pitman of Austin, Texas. "How do we explain that to our kids?"

Pitman countered that he had tried to change his sexual orientation because of his conservative, religious upbringing.

"I've been through the ex-gay programs. I gave it a good faith effort because of the way I was raised," Pitman told him. "I found them all to be deceitful and, in the end, unsuccessful."

Last updated: Sunday, April 15, 2001 11:19:56 PM

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