ATLANTA
—
The
rainbow
bandana
tied
around
B.J.
Jackson’s
left
arm
caught
the
eye
of
many
people
entering
the
King
Center
grounds
Saturday
morning,
braving
rain
and
cold
to
march
in
support
of
a
constitutional
amendment
banning
gay
marriage.
“Yeah
—
we
people,”
Jackson
said
defiantly,
her
head
nodding
and
arms
stretched
out
in
a
crucified
position.
“Amen,”
said
one
woman
walking
by
with
her
family.
The
Dec.
11
“Re-ignite
the
Legacy”
march
—
coordinated
by
Bishop
Eddie
Long,
leader
of
the
New
Birth
Missionary
Baptist
Church
in
Lithonia
—
drew
between
20,000
and
25,000
people,
according
to
Atlanta
Police
Department
estimates.
The
trek
from
Rev.
Martin
Luther
King
Jr.’s
gravesite
to
Turner
Field
was
in
response
to
Long’s
call
for
black
churches
to
become
more
vocal
political
players
on
issues
like
banning
same-sex
marriage,
reforming
the
education
and
health
care
systems,
and
creating
economic
opportunities
for
minorities.
“It’s
time
for
us
to
get
back
into
the
conversation
of
the
nation,”
Long
told
his
followers
before
the
march.
“Get
back
into
the
conversation
and
allow
those
things
that
we
believe,
firmly
—
know
there’s
a
mandate
for
us
to
get
[those]
accomplished.”
Jackson,
board
chair
of
the
black
lesbian
group
ZAMI,
was
among
the
first
of
about
50
gay
and
lesbian
protesters
who
assembled
on
the
King
Center
grounds
at
8:30
a.m.,
hoping
to
counter
the
church
march,
which
was
set
to
begin
at
9:45
a.m.
But
the
counter
protesters
were
soon
told
by
park
security
that
they
could
not
remain
on
the
premises.
They
moved
their
demonstration
onto
the
streets
of
Atlanta’s
Sweet
Auburn
neighborhood.
The
counter
protest’s
visibility
and
numbers
grew
once
they
gathered
on
Jackson
Street,
but
they
were
soon
told
to
move
again.
Atlanta
Police
Officer
C.J.
Franklin
first
told
counterprotesters
they
were
violating
a
city
ordinance
prohibiting
signs
larger
than
2-feet
by
2-feet
from
use
in
demonstrations.
When
protesters
refused
to
believe
Franklin,
the
officer
told
them
they
were
assembled
on
private
property
and
were
potentially
blocking
traffic.
There
is
no
city
ordinance
restricting
the
size
of
protest
signs,
but
the
officer
was
referring
to
the
police
department’s
“Guidelines
for
a
Peaceful
Protest,”
said
Sgt.
Connie
Locke,
APD’s
gay
liaison,
in
an
e-mail
interview.
“These
guidelines
are
not
city
ordinances,
but
they
are
guidelines
issued
by
the
police
department
to
all
organizations
that
wish
to
demonstrate
or
protest
to
ensure
public
safety
and
public
right
of
way,”
Locke
said.
“Any
[larger
signage]
presents
a
safety
issue
for
those
utilizing
the
sidewalk.”
Signs
in
hand,
the
counterprotesters
finally
settled
on
the
corner
of
Jackson
and
Auburn
Avenue,
the
starting
point
through
which
church
marchers
passed.
“I’m
looking
at
the
people
just
stream,
and
stream
and
stream
down
the
sidewalk,
and
it
amazes
me
how
many
people
will
wake
up
so
early
in
the
morning
to
support
such
a
hateful
message,”
Jackson
said.
The
gay
protesters
—
organized
by
activists
Kevin
Bynes,
Anthony
Antoine
and
Craig
Washington
—
encountered
little
hostility,
beyond
a
man
crossing
the
street
and
staring
face-to-face
with
them.
The
diverse
group
was
also
chided
when
they
chanted,
“Hey,
hey!
Ho,
ho!
Homophobia
has
got
to
go!”
Standing
across
the
street,
Wanda
E.
White
of
Atlanta
leaned
toward
the
protesters
to
mimic
their
chant,
but
replaced
“homophobia”
with
“homosexuals.”
“People
live
their
lives
like
they
want
to,
and
I’m
not
here
to
judge
them,
but
once
you
move
God
out
of
society,
you
have
a
big
problem,”
White
said.
As
marchers
passed
the
protesters,
their
comments
ranged
from
“I’ve
got
nothing
but
love
for
you,”
to
“You
need
Jesus”
and
“In
the
name
of
Jesus,
wake
up.”
Carrying
a
torch
lit
from
the
eternal
flame
at
King’s
tomb,
Long
marched
past
the
gay
protesters
at
10:07
a.m.,
briefly
glancing
their
way
and
offering
a
closed-lip
smile.
“The
worst
behavior
we
had
from
the
marchers
was
self-righteousness,
but
they
were
pretty
well
behaved,”
said
Bynes,
who
works
for
AID
Atlanta.
“Many
of
them
mirrored
Bishop
Long’s
smug
attitude,
sort
of
ignoring
the
fact
that
we
were
there.
“It’s
painful
to
know
they
could
ignore
the
pain
of
LGBT
people
and
what
they
did
to
us,”
added
Bynes,
who
shouted
“Shame
on
you!”
as
Long
marched
past.
Long
—
flanked
by
his
wife,
Vanessa,
and
march
co-organizer
Rev.
Bernice
King,
the
late
civil
rights
leader’s
youngest
daughter
—
led
a
river
of
Christians
as
wide
as
the
street
that
flowed
rapidly
for
23
minutes
before
all
of
the
marchers
passed
the
gay
protest.
Long,
who
calls
himself
a
bishop
although
he
is
not
part
of
a
larger
church
denomination,
was
traveling
this
week
and
unavailable
for
comment,
according
to
his
staff.
But
he
issued
a
statement
Dec.
8
saying
the
march
“is
not
a
demonstration
to
alienate
or
separate
any
group
of
people.”
“This
march
was
not
derived
out
of
an
idea
to
protest
same-sex
marriage,
...
