Gay Rights Activists To Protest Charlie Crist's Wedding

Gay rights activists plan to demonstrate outside Gov. Charlie Crist's wedding to Carole Rome this month.

The group Impact-Florida has called on its members to gather in pink T-shirts outside First United Methodist Church of St. Petersburg on Dec.12 to "congratulate" Crist and Rome while their wedding takes place inside. The demonstration will continue outside the wedding reception at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort in downtown St. Petersburg.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[Quaoar]

Congratulations to the Governor and the new First Beard of Florida!

[newpotusplease]

According to the Associated Press: "Florida is the only state with an outright ban on gay adoption. Arkansas voters last month [November 2008] approved a measure similar to a law in Utah that bans any unmarried straight or gay couples from adopting or fostering children. Mississippi bans gay couples, but not single gays, from adopting." [72]

Crist has said he opposes any change to the ban in Florida, he and other Republican leaders hold the position that a "traditional family provides the best environment for children"

[newpotusplease]

and is the beat up travel industry going to protest as well

In July 2008, Crist, accompanied by his fiancee Carole Rome and her sister Michelle Oumano Powell, made a twelve day trade trip to Europe, including stops in London, Paris, St.Petersburg and Madrid. In December 2008, several press outlets reported that the cost of the trip was significantly higher than first reported. Business executives paid for Crist's travel expenses of $30,000 and the state paid $430,000 for travel expenses on the trip for his staff. The Sun Sentinel stated: "Taxpayers covered the airfare, lodging and meals for the state employees who went on the trip. The other participants paid their own way and a fee of up to $1,500 each for additional costs, including the governor's expenses. In all, about 65 Florida business executives accompanied Crist, including real estate agents, aviation industry representatives, lawyers, lobbyists and two people with ties to the sugar industry."

[newpotusplease]

judging from these photos of Crist and his fiance in Europe

it looks she wants to be First Lady of Florida really bad

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/nationworld/sfl-1122ttt_cristeuropetrip.pg,0,4446649.photogallery

[newpotusplease]

Are any pro choice people going to demonstrate as well?

On September 1, 2008 Crist appointed Judge Charles T. Canady to the Florida Supreme Court. Cannady is credited with inventing the term "partial birth abortion" while developing the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act of 1995.[64]

On October 1, 2008 Crist appointed Judge Ricky Polston to the Florida Supreme Court. Polston maintains a "Choose Life" Florida license plate and has been described as conservative. Crist will make two additional appointments to the Florida Supreme Court in early 2009, when Justice Harry Lee Anstead and Justice Charles T. Wells must step down because they will each have reached the mandatory retirement age of 70 years old.[65] [66]

Some view these appointments of conservative judges as an attempt on Crist's part to shore up the conservative Republican base. However, Crist stated in a CNN interview that he believes that it is necessary to govern in "an almost non partisan manner" after the results of the 2008 election.

[Observer1000]

Crist's marriage only helps the gay equality struggle. Any reasonable person sees how immoral it is to force a man to use a woman to protect his job. And, it does more to cheapen the institution of marriage (other the Britney's Las Vegas wedding a couple of years back) than any same sex marriage. Christians throughout America are realizing that if 2 people of the same sex are choosing to spend a life of monogamy together they deserve to be blessed. It is those that enter into sham heterosexual marriages that should be condemned for threatening the institution of marriage.

[newpotusplease]

but what if the woman wants to be used that way

what if she wants to be First Lady of Florida

and is a willing participant?

[carsntrucks]

It's sad that I'm having a hard time distinguishing the methods of gay rights proponents and the Westboro Baptist Church.

[dryrock]

OK, Object Lesson: When my partner died, his family showed up in my driveway with a moving truck, expecting to empty out the house and take it at least half of it away from me. They didn't even pretend to be civil. By Law we had no community property (can't get married) and they said their attorney told them if I didn't have a receipt they could take it. He saw this coming and we had to pay an attorney to put everything in my name before his death (which was extraordinarily stressful and costly). Then they started calling about this and that "family" item. I finally had to ask my attorney to put a stop order on them. Half of his ashes are in the local military cemetery (he was Navy); half are in my family's crypt.

On another occasion I was called to transport someone to the doctor, as he could no longer walk or drive. I arrived to find his family had spread his belongings on the front lawn for a yard sale cuz "he wasn't gonna need them". He was too weak to protest. They were right, he wasn't gonna need them - he died a few weeks later, alone, in a hospital. So much for Christian compassion.

When I bring up these obscenities to straight people, they say I shouldn't shove it in their faces. "F" them! I wonder why they are so sensitive about it.

[Aesthete]

I personally don't care whether or not Charlie Crist is gay. If he chooses to marry a woman for whatever reason, that is their choice and their business. They are both consenting adults. Meddling demonstrators need to get a life and leave the couple alone.

[Myshkin57]

Yeah. I don't really get it. If he is gay, they should respect that it's tough for him to be in his position and leave him be. A lot of gay people struggle with being in that type of position. Would it be proper for them to do that to all of them? And Crist had nothing to do with that ballot initiative passing in Florida, either.

I'm all for marriage for any two consenting adults (or more, I don't really care so long as its consenting and everyone's an adult) but this type of demonstration does not help. It would be more effective if they had a more low key approach. They could organize congratulations letters to him which include some note of the fact that they wish they could participate in the same kind of joy Crist is. And they could also send letters to the editor(s) to the same effect. This is not the type of fight that will be won with the type of tactic the demonstrators are planning.

[Witkacy]

These people are protesting against a GOP politician, not a private man. The GOP brought the culture war, so many decades ago; and now that times have truly begun in some way to neutralize that campaign or organized bigotry (a black POTUS who says that everyone's included in this, our America - no one excluded), pols like Crist will be "collateral damage."

[Clarknt67]

It's not about him being gay.

It's about drawing attention that he endorsed depriving others of a right he's exercising.

[gaysofla]

To learn more on being part of this fabulously delicious event, copy and Paste the following link into your browser:

http://www.gaysofla.com/content/view/431/51/

So I guess gay people can be turned straight!!! Well, then! Let's celebrate in ol' Saint Pete!!!

[newpotusplease]

please take pictures and post!!

[Opt1musPr1me]

Soon we will all know the truth about Crist won't we?

[faretheewell]

Can a sixty percent vote enact a constitutional ammendment to prevent blue eyed people from being allowed to marry? How about an ammendment to outlaw mixed race marriages? Seems likey tyranny of the majority is rearing its ugly head yet again. When did rights become a matter of voting.

[1Duck]

Well if homosexuality wasn't a choice like eye color, ethnicity and the like maybe your argument would hold water.

[Dave01]

Tell us DlCK, when did you decide that you were heterosexual?

[Myshkin57]

Even if it were a choice (which it isn't) what's the problem with it? Tell me anything that makes sense.

[LeftLeanWing]

Miss DuckyThang,..... Hush !

How many times did You choose to engage your homosexuality with the lame "I was drunk" excuse. ?

Yeah it's a choice alright

I choose not to Ignore what I feel COMPELLED to do and to Love.

AND

I'M

L O V I N G

I T

Woooooooooooooooo !

[chasmader]

All it takes in California is 51%

[jake106]

How classy. When that backfires on you, please don't act surprised.

[1Duck]

I sure hope it does! I'm so tired of these people screaming about their alleged rights being stripped! What rights have been stripped exactly? Oh yeah...the imaginary marriage right that NO ONE has! Marriage is not a right, period!

[MickeyC]

Apparently you haven't heard that in 1967 the US Supreme Court clearly stated that marriage was "a basic human right". So tell us all why you are so concerned about who other people marry?

[LeftLeanWing]

D u c k . Y o u !

[chasmader]

Marriage is a Sacrament.

[woodcut]

We gays will be confronting every religion, at every opportunity.
The days when religion was "off limits" are over.
You can believe in whatever you want - just keep it to yourself. Our love is stronger than your fear.

[LiarLiarIraqsOnFire]

Pink T-Shirts & BEARDS would be more appropriate.

I bet the Pre-nup has a 'Deena McGreevy' Clause in it.

[HRH]

Carole Rome owns a costume company. She not IS a beard, she SELLS them!

[HRH]

Oops! Carole Rome owns a costume company. She not only IS a beard, she SELLS them!