'Gay Loggers for Jesus' to March on Independence Day in Montana
Written by Tim McElreavy Friday, 19 June 2009 05:20
What could be more patriotic than reenacting the Boston Tea Party on the Fourth of July? The city of Bozeman, Montana, has granted a demonstration permit to Henry Kriegel to mount a tax protest on Main Street (yes, it's really called Main Street) on Independence Day at a cost to the city of $1,100.
However, the fact that a tax protest will cost taxpayers money doesn't sit well with Brian Leland, founder and leader of the group Gay Loggers for Jesus. Hung up on the issue, he, too, has applied for and received a permit to hold a parade down Main Street on Independence Day. His group will march down Main Street singing “Kumbaya” at 9 a.m. on July 4, 2009, two hours before the tea party.
Unlike the organizers of the tea party, Mr. Leland plans to pay for the costs for his group's permit and use of city property. "I just want to point out the contrast between an organization that is willing to pay its own way and not burden the city taxpayers versus another organization that seems to be somewhat ambivalent about the impact that they are going to have,” Leland said.
Kriegel thinks that Leland's protest of his protest is just plain silly. “[Our tea party] does not constitute wasteful government spending,” Kriegel said. “This constitutes legitimate spending of the government to ensure the public’s safety and of the participants in the rally.” Does the government actually pay for people to teabag, even if it's for the public good? You might think that a group of gay loggers, regardless of whether they are for or against Jesus (who would be nothing without the wood, BTW), would love the opportunity to teabag in public.
Think again. Leland says that his organization does not currently have any loggers or any homosexuals among its membership. “It’s our First Amendment right,” said Leland, who noted in a letter attached to his application that he’s “neither gay nor a logger, but this is a ‘big tent’ organization.” Well, if you pitch a big tent, it won't be long before you have some gays wanting to join. Throw in some teabagging and some big logs, and that sounds like a party that'll have some fireworks.
Read the original article in Carnal Nations
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