Operation Rescue plans Obama protest for DNC
By Hector Gutierrez, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 20, 2008 at 7:44 p.m.
Updated August 20, 2008 at 7:48 p.m.
An anti-abortion group emerged from a meeting with police Wednesday to say it will conduct an illegal sit-in during the Democratic National Convention and expects to be arrested.
Leaders of Operation Rescue said they will protest Sen. Barack Obama's pro-choice views and plan a sit-in either Monday or Tuesday, but would not disclose the location.
"We will be arrested, that's the bottom line," Randall A. Terry, Operation Rescue's founder, said after a 45-minute meeting with Deputy Chief John Lamb.
Detective Sharon Hahn, police spokeswoman, said the department doesn't expect many problems with the anti-abortion demonstrators.
Operation Rescue also is targeting Catholics, evangelical Christians and congregations of black churches who support Obama's presidential bid.
The activists plan to distribute at least 100,000 anti-abortion brochures around the city by leaving them on parked vehicles, outside businesses and places of worship. Brochures will be left on cars in parking lots outside at least 60 Catholic and evangelical churches Saturday and Sunday while parishioners are inside, Terry said.
His group is deciding which black churches to target, Terry said.
One brochure they plan to leave with black church members shows Obama's image with a red handprint over it, and the question: "Is it immoral to vote for Obama for president?"
The Roman Catholic Church has opposed abortion. However, Terry said its churches are being targeted because he believed many parishioners plan to support Obama.
"We ask them to be respectful, and we obviously respect their freedom of speech," Jeanette DeMelo, Catholic Archdiocese of Denver spokeswoman, said.
The Rev. Ralph Beechum, chair of the Greater Metro Denver Ministerial Alliance, which includes several black churches, could not be reached for comment.
Terry, who is a Republican, said he's not campaigning for GOP presidential candidate John McCain during the convention.
Featured
-
DNC in Denver
Complete coverage of the 2008 Democratic National Convention.
-
The Crevasse
A five-part series that examines one tragic day on Mount Rainier.
-
Deadly denial
Sick nuclear workers applied for government compensation but most haven't seen a dime.
-
Final Salute
The Rocky followed Maj. Steve Beck as he took on the most difficult duty of his career.
-
'Colorado's burning'
Coverage of the state's worst wildfires.
-
Columbine shootings
Coverage of the April 20, 1999, shootings at Littleton's Columbine High School.
-
The Crossing
Colorado's deadliest traffic accident killed 20 children on Dec. 14, 1961.
-
Osveli's journey
Osveli Sales left Guatemala for a better life. Two months later, he came home in a box.
-
Wake for an Indian warrior
Oglala Sioux bestow a tribute to the first tribal fatality in Iraq.
