A pro-'gay'-marriage protester in Palm Springs |
An angry mob of homosexual activists in Southern California attacked an elderly bespectacled woman carrying a cross then shouted her down during a live TV interview as she tried to explain to a reporter her defense of the state's new marriage amendment.
"WE SHOULD FIGHT! WE SHOULD FIGHT!" screams one protester as the woman, identified as Phyllis Burgess, stands calmly with a reporter waiting to be interviewed.
In the live interview by KPSP-TV in Palm Springs, another protester yells, "GET OUT OF HERE," and the reporter tells her anchor team back at the station, "As you can see we are being attacked."
The confrontation developed when homosexual activists gathered at the Palm Springs City Hall for a protest following voters' approving by a margin of nearly 53 percent to 47 percent a state constitutional amendment that recognizes only a marriage between a man and a woman. The amendment specified that it is effective immediately. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, however, is encouraging an effort led by the ACLU to overturn the measure in court.
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Prior to the aborted interview, KPSP captured footage of Burgess carrying a cross to portray her objection to homosexual marriage on biblical grounds.
Burgess barely had arrived when the cross was knocked from her hand then stomped on the ground.
About 10 minutes later, the on-scene reporter, Kimberly Cheng, tried repeatedly to complete her interview.
"She just wants to express her viewpoint, sir," she tells a protester who was waving his arms in her face.
The video later was posted on the San Francisco State University College Republicans' website.
Ryan Sorba, chairman of the college group, said the video "is astounding and chilling and speaks for itself."
"The end of this video illustrates
the fate of religious freedom and marriage should pro-sodomy activists
ultimately legalize so-called same-sex marriage by way of activist
California courts," he wrote.
That's where the anchor concludes the report with: "There's a lot of anger and a lot of hate, quite honestly, on both sides."
On the Republicans' comment page, there was outrage.
- "There is simply no explanation for this kind of intolerance. For a group of people who claim to be fighting to expand their rights, they sure are willing to strip conservatives of theirs."
- "Yeah, the 80 year old woman was full of HATE. you could tell."
- "The anchor said there was a lot of anger and hate on both sides – there was no anger and hate portrayed by the little old lady holding the cross. She reminds me of Gandhi. The anger and hate was all one sided. To defile a crucifix like that is a very grave evil indeed."
- "Man, this is unbelievable. I have never seen so much intolerance and hate in my life. Who is being silenced now. The news anchor obviously was not paying attention to what was going on, if he had the nerve to say there was hatred from both sides. ... From what I saw, she was saying she loved the people, was praying, and had her belongings ripped from her and trampled on."
Another forum contributor, however, asserted, "That lady had it comin.'"