|
Reprinted from Reuters, June 7, 1998.
Anti-Gay Protests Fizzle at Walt Disney World
By Brad Liston
ORLANDO, Fla., June 6 (Reuters) - Operation Rescue, a militant
anti-abortion, anti-homosexual group that promised to disrupt Walt Disney World during a
Gay Days celebration Saturday, left Orlando little noticed by the 120,000 gay and lesbian
tourists in town.
During a week of protests at abortion clinics, bookstores and Disney's Magic Kingdom,
the Dallas-based fundamentalist group never drew more than 200 protesters.
The numbers were a mere fraction of the 1,400 who showed up in Dayton, Ohio, for
protests in 1997 and the 2,000 to 5,000 Operation Rescue activists who have laid siege to
U.S. abortion clinics in the past.
In Orlando no church congregations joined forces with them, said Rev. Philip
Benham, Operation Rescue's national director.
Bill Shanks, an Operation Rescue member from New Orleans who tried to pass out
literature inside the Disney park, said the 12 infiltrators sent into Disney were under
strict orders not to be arrested. In previous protests, activists were taken into custody
en masse.
"We've lost our lawyers ... and we don't have bail money," Shanks said.
Thirteen protesters were arrested at various venues since the rally began last Sunday
and were held on bail ranging from $1,500 to $2,500.
Security was beefed up for Saturday and no disturbances were reported, Bill Warren, a
spokesman for Disney, said. The city of Orlando had won a highly restrictive court order
against Operation Rescue even before its members arrived.
Many gay and lesbian tourists in Orlando seemed oblivious to the group's protests.
"I'm so sorry they couldn't make it, but it's OK. I didn't need rescuing
anyway," one said.
|
