Gay-rights activists rally outside 'The Laramie Project;' protesters don't show
Gay-rights activists rally outside the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre's production of "The Laramie Project" outside the University of Michigan's Arthur Miller Theatre. Protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church did not come.
Erica Hobbs | AnnArbor.com
An announced protest at Ann Arbor Civic Theatre’s production of "The Laramie Project" did not materialize Saturday night, but that did not stop about 250 gay-rights activists from rallying outside the University of Michigan’s Arthur Miller Theatre.
The Westboro Baptist Church, a group known for its anti-gay extremism, said it was dropping its plans to protest outside the theater just hours before the show’s 8 p.m. start time.
“It appears they had other priorities,” U-M Department of Public Safety spokesperson Diane Brown said.
Singing Lady Gaga and carrying posters saying “Judge Not Lest Ye Be Judged” and “Being Gay is Fabulous,” people from around the state came out to show their support for gay rights anyway.
“I think Michigan is one of those states that definitely needs to show tolerance,” Kelly Shaw of Oakland University’s Gender and Sexuality Center said. “We need to show we are tolerant; there are those among us who favor gay rights.”
"The Laramie Project" is a play rooted in the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, an openly gay University of Wyoming student who was tortured and beaten to death near Laramie, Wyo.
Activist Tim Prayther drove from Monroe to protest against the Westboro group, something he had wanted to do for a long time.
“Gay rights are really important to me,” he said. “God is supposed to be love, yet they say God hates everybody.”
While many were glad the Westboro group —Â which is also known for picketing soldiers' funerals — did not make an appearance, Chelsea High School student Heather Cooper said she was a little disappointed they didn’t come.
“It’s fun to be out here with other people who share the cause, but I wish they could see the amount of people here and that we really believe in this,” she said. “I’m a queer youth in a sometimes unaccepting world. It’s nice to be here with other people who are queer like me or are allies. It’s nice to support each other.”
AACT's production of "The Laramie Project" concludes Sunday.
Erica Hobbs is a reporter for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at 734 623-2537 or via e-mail at ericahobbs@annarbor.com.
Comments
Richard C
Tue, May 11, 2010 : 8:45 a.m.
I attended the Laramie Project on Saturday and appreciated the large group of Gay-rights Activists outside of the theater. A large group talking about and singing of love instead of hate was a nice change from what I seem to hear and read a lot of.
Wolverine3660
Sun, May 9, 2010 : 8:30 a.m.
I may be wrong, but, the Westboro folks seem to go to events and places here they can either cause fights/riots and/or get a lot of publicity. One of their strategies is this- the incite a riot,and if a single one of their gang is touched, they sue the city in question, claiming that their civil rights were violated, their First Amendment rights were violated, the police didnt protect them, etc.