Results tagged “protestors”

Bearing signs that read "You Will Eat Your Babies" and "Fags Doom Nations," members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church showed up at gay-friendly The Congregation Beth Simchat Torah in the West Village ready to give its members a piece of their mind. Westboro member Steve Drane told NY1, "Anywhere where God's word needs to be preached to an unrepentant generation, that's where we'll be." This weekend marks the first that the church led by Fred Phelps is expanding its anti-gay crusade to now include Jews as well, for reasons such as their exceeding tolerance of homosexuality and abortion to their lack of repentance for killing Christ. While only a handful of Westboro members made it out today, hundreds including Speaker Christine Quinn faced off with them in a counter-protest, where members of the temple were encouraged to keep their message positive when addressing the visitors, particularly while speaking to the press.

Just after State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. made jaws drop in Albany and around the state by teaming with fellow Democrat Hiram Monserrate and handing control of the Senate over to Republicans, his Mamaroneck home was broken into and had files and office papers stolen from within it. Espada told the Post, "This was a burglary. I have to tie it in to demonstrations outside my home. Things are on the precipice of violence... People will get hurt." Good thing burglars knew to hit his Westchester home and not the Bronx residence in the neighborhood Espada represents, where neighbors never seem to see him. NY1 went to the Bronx district and said they found his constitutents unhappy with the senator's power play. One voter told them, "It's kind of ridiculous, but seriously, because to be honest with you, I cannot understand exactly being in a one party body for one reason for a long time, and then switch it suddenly just like with out another reasons. How can you explain that to the people?"