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Thom Cardwell
James Duggan

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James Duggan

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Thom Cardwell

Copyright 2009

All Rights Reserved - BUCKmonkey, LLC 

 

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QUEERtimes is published weekly as a service for discerning queers and heterosexuals alike in Philadelphia and beyond.

 

Expressed opinions are that of the author(s) and do not represent the thoughts, feelings and /or opinions of any person, organization, company, staff member, or any of our advertisers.

Over the years while speaking out against the proximity of the anti-queer demonstrators to our events, I am often confronted by individuals trying to defend the first amendment rights of the demonstrators.  Some confront me in civil conversation, simply agreeing to disagree with each other, yet others are more in-your-face confrontational.   To each, my position is the same.
 
I am not opposed to their right to demonstrate but rather their proximity to our events which many believe, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), is not an infringement on anyone's first amendment rights. Yes, I am repulsed by the anti-queer message but the bases of my argument remains completely content-neutral.
 
(Remember we are speaking about demonstrators here and not individuals who want to walk around and hand out informational tracts!)
 
My position is very simple.  Demonstrators should be positioned at the perimeter of the event at a location where any individuals attending the event would have easy access to the demonstrators.  The line of sight to the demonstrators and their ability to project their message should be based on the same guidelines that are set for the vendors who pay a fee to participate in the event.
 
When events are located in areas which the demonstrators have no access to, such as a hotel, Penn's Landing, private residence, or church, they should be restricted to a distance of no closer then 50 feet from the entrance to that event.
 
These two positions neither limits nor prevents demonstrator's right to freedom of speech.  The demonstrators will still be seen and heard and, if they freely choose, event attendees will have clear access to them. 
 
The fact is no person or persons should be subject to the onslaught of demonstrators screaming their opposition directly in their face.  The first amendment speaks nothing to one's right to get in your face especially when we are our exercising our constitutional right to freedom of assembly.
 
The positions I hold are not new, authorities can and do place reasonable restrictions on demonstrations with regard to time, place and manner.  Even here in Philadelphia I have witnessed the police restricting the proximity of demonstrators to events.
 
One time I joined others to demonstrate outside of SS. Pete and Paul Roman Catholic Cathedral during the ordination of priest. There the Philadelphia Police Department (PPD) required us to hold our demonstration in the park across the street from the entrance of the Cathedral.
 
However, when it comes to our queer-centric events, the PPD seems to hold the demonstrators to a completely different standard which, by the way, was very evident during this year's pride festival at Penn's Landing as the demonstrators where permitted to set up their 10 foot tall banner and sound equipment within 10 feet of the entrance of the event.  They were so close to vendors that they shared the fence line standing back-to-back with each other.
 
At one point, the security for Penn's Landing made a request of the PPD to move the demonstrators from in front of the entrance but the police refused this request allowing them and the growing number of counter-demonstrators, to block half the entrance thereby forcing many attendees, some in wheelchairs, to have to push their way through to the crowd to gain access to the event.
 
Each year you never really know how the PPD will react or what they will do with either the demonstrators or counter-demonstrators. It's as if with each new event they try out a different strategy on how to handle the situation.  For years, I heard them say it was the mayor, the city law department or even the event organizers who were making the decisions on how the demonstrators will be handled.  
 
I've since learned that it is the PPD making all the decisions and, on many occasions, I have watched the Civil Affairs Unit of the PPD conference with the department lawyers on scene as they try to figure out what their next move should be.
 
This year the PPD took a novel approach. They are the ones who stood 50 feet away leaving the demonstrators to be free to do their own thing without restrictions. Personally, I believe that the police, who I honor and respect for their noble service, have been compromised by lawyers and intimidated by lawsuits by these same anti-queer demonstrators to the point were our rights are no longer factored into their thinking process.
 
Unless the PPD has set a new freewheeling standard for demonstrations across the city, where proximity will never be restricted, they need to find a standard that can and will be equally applied to all events.
 
Compromise, which does not equate to restrictions, is the only path to ensuring the balance of rights.  If the PPD does not have the leadership to achieve this, then Mayor Nutter needs to step in and protect the rights of all of Philadelphia's residences and visitors.

 

 

Since last Sunday was Pride and this Sunday is Father's Day, I find it appropriate to write my column about my dad.
 
I can say with no reservation that I would not be the young and proud gay man I am without the love and support of my father.  I told my dad I was gay when I was 15 years old in the early days of summer between my sophomore and junior year in high school.  His first response was that it was a phase.  By the end of summer and after a few unpleasant experiments with the opposite gender, I assured him that I was gay to stay.  His response to this was, "You're my son and I love you no matter what."
 
My dad's unfaltering acceptance of my sexuality could be a result of a couple truths in his life.  My dad, while in the military, was stationed in San Francisco.  The Bay City was a mecca for gays and other alternative lifestyle people. During the years of the Vietnam War, it also served as a powerful symbol for the counter cultural revolution and anti-war movement.
 
When my dad returned to Philadelphia, he resided in the energetic and creative South Street of the 1970s.  He was a brilliant photographer and poet who surrounded himself with other artisans during this volatile point in American history.  As many other baby boomers opted to make money and build corporations, my dad and other self-proclaimed "hippies" created art and discovered truth and beauty.
 
I don't believe one way of life is better than the next. Eventually, my dad did leave the urban life with my mom to start a family in the suburbs of New Jersey.  Perhaps in the same way that corporations now sponsor pride events, my dad's move to suburbia was inevitable.  He wanted the best for his children--including the yard he never had and to protect us from city crime.
 
In the suburbs, my dad assimilated with the culture.  He became a special education teacher and mowed the grass on the weekends.  The colorful chapters of his life in San Francisco and South Street were forever closed.  He tells me that he has no regrets and wouldn't trade my sister and me for anything in for the world!  At the same time, I can't help but think those days in my dad's younger years have had a lasting impression on the way he thinks and acts today.
 
In many ways, my own life now mirrors my dad's.  I live in the city with no car and little money and have few corporate ambitions.  I dream of love, beauty and want to find the truth in everything I do.
 
By having this outlook on life, how could I, my dad, or anyone, disapprove of another person's journey?  When I told my dad I was gay, how could he not accept me?  I was born gay, I am not hurting anyone nor do I wish to convert anyone.  I am living my life and finding what works for me and no one has the right to take that away from me, including my dad.  Lucky me!