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MICHIGAN: GAY FASCISTS STORM CHURCH
November 11, 2008
On Sunday, November 9, a band of about 30 gays stormed a church in Lansing, Michigan. Some were well dressed and were stationed inside Mount Hope Church; others were outside dressed in pink and black. The group of self-described homosexual anarchists, Bash Back., claims the evangelical church is guilty of "transphobia and homophobia."
The protesters outside the church were beating on buckets, shouting "Jesus was a homo" on a megaphone and carrying an upside-down pink cross. Fire alarms went off inside the church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge rainbow-colored flag was unfurled with the inscription, "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY. BASH BACK." The church was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers were confronted. There were no arrests.
New Developments
November 12, 2008
Catholic League president Bill Donohue commented today on new developments surrounding the radical gays who stormed a church on Nov. 9 in Lansing, Michigan (see Catholic League news release 11-11):
"On Nov. 11, I asked Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox to launch an investigation into what happened at Mount Hope Church. We knew yesterday that a group of gay fascists stormed the church during a Sunday service. What we did not know is that this is a nationwide organization that has been planning to terrorize the church for the past month.
"The facts are not in dispute-all one has to do is tap into the website of Bash Back. There one will find that on Oct. 12 and Oct. 23, a memo was sent to members of the group to commemorate the founding of 'Michigan's newly formed chapter' asking 'Queers and Trannies' to join in storming the church.
The group boasts that in 2008 there has been 'an explosion in Radical Trans/Queer organizing,' citing progress that has been made from 'Maine to the Midwest to The Bay Area.' Bash Back. was founded to fight 'State recognition in the form of oppressive institutions such as marriage and militarism'; it says both are 'steps towards heteronormative assimilation.' The radical nature of the group has led it to protest pro-gay marriage organizations like the Human Rights Campaign.
"It is important that law enforcement from all quarters address this issue. We will now contact Eaton County Sheriff Mike Raines and Eaton County Prosecutor Jeffrey L. Sauter to work cooperatively with Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox.
"A left-wing website, the Daily Kos, labeled news reports on what happened at the church 'a funny story,' and conducted a survey on the subject. Only 19 percent thought what Bash Back. did crossed the line."
Contact Sheriff Mike Raines: mraines@eatoncounty.org
Contact Prosecutor Jeff Sauter: jsauter@eatoncounty.org
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'Bash Back' Statement on Mount Hope Church Assault:
Bash Back. Raises Hell at Anti-Queer Mega-Church
The Mount Hope Church is a deplorable, anti-queer mega-church in Lansing, Michigan. The church works to institutionalize transphobia and homophobia through several repulsive projects including organized "ex-gay" conferences and so-called "hell houses", which depict queers, trannies and womyn who seek abortions as the horrors. Mt. Hope is complicit in the repression of queers in Michigan and beyond.
Bash Back. ain't down with that. And so on Sunday November 9th, about thirty radical queers from Lansing, Chicago, Memphis and Milwaukee disrupted the church's most well-attended sermon.
At noon, a small group of folks dressed in pink and black, equipped with a megaphone, black flags, picket signs and an upside-down pink cross began demonstrating outside the church. The group was extremely loud and wildly offensive.
The demonstration drew a majority of Mount Hope's security staff outside to watch them.
Meanwhile, with the guards pre-occupied by the distraction, over a dozen queers had put on their Sunday-best and infiltrated the church's congregation. At the signal that the guards had been lured outside, the infiltrators sprung into action.
A group stood up, declared themselves fags, and began screaming loudly. Upon hearing the loud interruption, other affinity groups went into action. A team that had been hiding under the pews in the closed-off balcony dropped a banner and pulled back the curtains to reveal "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY. BASH BACK.". Another group threw over a thousand fliers to the entirety of the congregation. The fire alarm was pulled. Queers began making out in front of the pastor. And within a matter of minutes, everyone had evaded the guards and made their escapes.
Bash Back. operatives, still hidden among the congregation observed a person screaming that Satan had come to Mount Hope, that the end was here, that the queers were everywhere. She then began speaking tongues. The dumbfounded pastor, after regaining his composure, went on to speak of the of decadent, depraved wolves that menace his flock of sheep.
Let it be known: So long as bigots kill us in the streets, this pack of wolves will continue to BASH BACK.
We are everywhere. bashbacknews.wordpress.com
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Homosexualist Anarchists Storm Michigan Church During Sunday Service
By John Jalsevac
LANSING, MI, November 11, 2008 (LifeSiteNews.com) - On Sunday, November 9, a band of about 30 homosexuals stormed a church in Lansing, Michigan. Some were well dressed and were stationed inside Mount Hope Church, where they pretended to be normal Sunday worshippers; others were outside dressed in pink and black.
The group of self-described homosexual anarchists, Bash Back., claims the evangelical church is guilty of "transphobia and homophobia." The group says that it fights for "liberation," opposes "all forms of state power," and urges members not to condemn certain methods of promoting their cause "on the grounds that the State deems it to be illegal." During the service the protesters outside the church were beating on buckets, shouting "Jesus was a homo" on a megaphone and carrying an upside-down pink cross. They distributed fliers to passersby.
When the signal was given the protesters inside the church rose from their seats and began loudly to disrupt the service. The fire alarm was pulled inside the church, protesters stormed the pulpit and a huge rainbow-colored flag was unfurled with the inscription, "IT'S OKAY TO BE GAY. BASH BACK."
The church was vandalized, obscenities were shouted and worshippers were confronted. According to Right Michigan the protestors in their demonstration also used condoms, glitter, confetti, and pink fabric. A video camera wielded by the homosexualists attempted to capture violent reactions from members of the congregation, of which there were none. Right Michigan also reports that approximately an hour after the demonstration two of the demonstrators were found by security in a public restroom in the church together. There were no arrests.
Bash Back. issued a press release on their website after the fact, which admitted that "the group was extremely loud and wildly offensive." The group described Mount Hope Church as "deplorable" and "anti-queer." The release concluded, "Let it be known: So long as bigots kill us in the streets, this pack of wolves will continue to BASH BACK." Catholic League president Bill Donohue today responded, saying, "The real story here is the refusal of the mainstream media to cover what is surely one of the most disturbing events of 2008. If an organized group of gay bashers stormed a gay church, there is not a single sentient person in the United States who wouldn't know about it. "This is urban fascism come to America's heartland. It must be quickly stopped before it gets out of control. We are contacting Mike Cox, the Attorney General of Michigan, calling for an investigation."
Bash Back.'s actions in Michigan follow several days of homosexualist demonstrations outside California churches, protesting the passage of Proposition 8.
