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A
homosexual-activist police officer assigned to security
at a Promise Keepers men's conference in Florida is
being investigated for threatening members of a Christian
organization petitioning for a state constitutional
marriage amendment. "I have never in my life seen
such unprofessional and bizarre behavior from a law
enforcement officer," said John Stemberger, the
president and general counsel of the Florida Family
Policy Council. "This kind of ridiculous harassment
and intimidation was meant to thwart the effort to protect
marriage in Florida. It should remind all of us that
we are engaged in a culture war..."
His
group had rented a display table at a June Promise Keepers
conference in the Fort Lauderdale area to publicize
its effort to collect more than 611,000 signatures on
petitions to call for a vote of Florida people. The
goal is to protect traditional marriage - between one
man and one woman - in the state constitution. But as
the signatures were being collected, officers of the
Sunrise city police department ordered volunteers for
Florida4Marriage.org to stop accepting names. "Officers
then physically removed the petitions from 'public view'
on the table at the exhibitors tent," the council
said in a website update of the situation. "Two
of the male officers mocked the volunteers by kissing
each other after they initially removed all the petitions
from the area."
Stemberger
yesterday told WorldNetDaily the situation now is on
hold while the police department fulfills its obligation
to do an investigation. "I have filed the complaint
with internal affairs. They are doing a good-faith investigation
because they've called me several times. I know that
the officer's retained counsel," he said.
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"No
one would have ever believed our story without
that photograph. That photograph really captures
the attitude that we were approached with,"
he said. The camera was a fortunate circumstance,
he said, because one volunteer said she always
carried one around. Her tape recorder, however,
didn't work, he said.
Stemberger
said without a significant result from the police
department's investigation, it would produce a
"chilling" effect on any Christian activities
in public areas. "Marriage is the picture
God gives in the Scripture about Christ and the
church," he said.
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Sgt. Stephen Allen, right, kisses
another officer
to mock Christians (Florida Family Policy Council)
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In
the actual confrontation, Stemberger was called after
the officers removed the petitions. He sought further
legal counsel from Rick Nelson of American Liberties
Institute and then confronted Sgt. Allen. He said he
asked the sergeant what law or ordinance was being violated
by the petitions and Allen simply responded with a not-entirely
accurate lecture on Jesus' view of homosexuality in
the New Testament and the statement that the petition
was a "waste of time." The sergeant then proclaimed
he was the authority and "the Bible says that Christians
should obey the authorities." Allen was backed
up by four other Sunrise officers and continued to argue
"theology" even after Promise Keepers' own
security and event officials arrived and explained the
petitions were authorized. Allen also threatened to
arrest Stemberger, who stood his ground. The situation
ultimately cooled down when managers for the arena told
the sergeant to stand down, the council said.
WND's
calls to the city manager's office yesterday were referred
to the police chief, whose secretary said he was out
of town and unavailable to provide an update on the
investigation. The police agency's website does speak
of a "diversified" team of officers.
The
petition drive is trying to collect 611,009 signatures
to put the issue on the 2008 election ballot. Similar
constitutional amendments already have been endorsed
by voters in 20 states, with another half dozen on the
ballot this year already. "We always have great
relationships with the venues and the security details
(at the conferences) and that's the first time we ever
saw that level of partisanship from security,"
Promise Keepers spokesman Steve Chavis told WND.
(c) 2006 WorldNetDaily.com
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