According to the Post-Gazette, 3,000 Pittsburghers showed up to listen to the Focus on the Family hatefest spew its usual wingnut messages: Democrats kill babies, Democrats hate families, Democrats embrace homosexual perversion, blah, blah, blah.  One interesting twist was his open criticisms of Republicans for being too soft.  Never fear - he did his best softshoe endorsement-that's-not-an-endorsement of Ricky "My Children Lie For Me" Sanctimonious.

The good news is the Pittsburgh's LGBTQ community did not let that message go unchallenged. 

Those waiting to hear James Dobson's message last night parked in lots above Mellon Arena and trickled toward Gate 1. Those hoping to counteract Mr. Dobson's message crowded in front of the entrance, lining both sides, creating a tunnel of signage -- in essence, one message forming the physical passageway to the opposite message.

Here, perhaps only here, the two ends of a polarizing issue rubbed against each other. Those walking into the arena saw some 150 protesters. They saw two arrests. They saw signs -- for instance, "5 Christian kids + 2 Christian moms = 1 Christian family." And then they kept walking.

150 people!  That's awesome.  For a midweek 5:00 PM turnout, that's a powerful statement about the impact Dobson's anti-gay message has had on our community.

You'll recall some tension between the "Standing With All Families" organizers and Pittsburgh's newest incarnation of RESYST! (now known as Antifa).  How about this:

For several minutes, the signing and chanting gave way to mayhem. Just before 6 p.m., a band of teens and twenty-somethings -- dressed exclusively in black, and wearing fabric over their mouths -- approached the arena cursing about Dr. Dobson and fascism. Several in the group -- Pittsburgh Antifa, unaffiliated with the rally -- attempted to rush onto Mellon Arena property holding a sign. Security officers stopped the blitz, and police later handcuffed two members, arresting them for disorderly conduct.

Then, things again grew calm. The Antifa members joined with the assembly, creating an odd union of peace-preachers dressed in rainbow colors and radicals holding signs saying "Feed Dobson to the Lions."

Ledcat was there last night (I'm in Phoenix at a conference) and reports that Antifa made their presence known but did not violate the space of the other protestors.  They got themselves arrested and all is well in their world I suppose.  She reports that the police did have at least one dog for crowd control, but those protesting (aside from the trespassers) followed instructions and there was no problem at all.

And I still have to say hurrah to Antifa for showing up to make a statement, however ill advised.  I have many friends who couldn't bother to be there for a variety of reasons, but still feel compelled to complain about Focus on the Family.  Kudos to the 150 people who made it a priority.

I love the image of the last paragraph quoted above.  That's the new queer community at its best. 

David Schelbe, Vice President of Pittsburgh PFLAG, attended the rally itself.  He has this to say:

Last night, at Pittsburgh?s Mellon Arena, [Dobson] whipped his devoted followers into a focused frenzy using fear and hate as rallying cries.  Almost everyone was on their feet.  But, as they stood for family values, they did not stand for mine.

I wish I had been there.