Million Fag March, Details And Instructions

Whew! Where to begin. What I'm about to tell you is
worthy of 3 or 4separate messages, but let's just do it
all now, shall we?

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First, the bad news...

I finally heard from the city of Topeka regarding what
we can and can't do. And there are two pretty major
"can'ts" that are going to affect us. But before you decide
all is lost, please read all the way through and see what
we've come up with.

The first "can't" involves "picketing a private residence."
The WBC is considered a private church, and therefore
falls under  the same rules as a private home. In short:
we can't picket directly outside the Westboro Baptist
Church.

Trust me. I hear your thoughts, and I understand
completely.

The second "can't" (which doesn't really matter so much
after the first) is that the city attorney's office feels this
many people in the street constitutes a parade. Had they
informed me of this earlier, I could have attempted to get
the proper permits. And in fact, I was told on one occasion
that we would NOT be needing any permits.

The officer I spoke with, however, thought the city might
deny our permit anyway, based on the streets we'd have
to block. We won't even discuss what this would have done
to the cost of our little grass roots event. (On the plus side,
we're freed from any prior time contraints.)

Not surprisingly, there aren't any sidewalks in that area,
which might have given us some leeway.

So, yeah. Those thoughts you're still having? I had them,
too. But read on...

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What do we do then?

Well, if we can't focus our attention on the WBC specifically,
we'll just have to let the entire city of Topeka know why
we're there. A  great way to do that is to line ourselves up
along a major street where we can't be ignored. And there
happens to be one not so far from the WBC.  While we're
at it, why not take over one of the nicest parks in town as
our base of operations?

Next, we let the Phelps know where we'll be. Some have
commented that the WBC probably wouldn't know we
existed if we weren't outside during their service. Let me
assure you: They know we're coming. But just so we're
positive, I'll personally send them an invitation letting
them know where we'll be and when (don't worry, I'm
getting to that).  I'll even ask them to come speak with
us. I notice a certain date is conspicuously absent from
their picket schedule, so I'd bet they'refree that day.

In other words, the only way we won't see them is if
they decide theydon't want to be seen.
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So, where will we be?

Ah, now for the details.

- On March 30th, 2008 at 11:00 AM, everyone should
gather at Gage Park, located at the corner of 10th St and
Gage Blvd in Topeka. There should be plenty of parking
right across 10th Street.

- At that time, we will hold a pre-March rally hosted by
Jack E. Jett, featuring the music of Oreaganomics, Bill
Boll, and perhaps a few others.

- At the conclusion of our rally, the March begins! We'll
line up down Gage Blvd (be sure to keep things legal and
stay on the sidewalk!) Bring your signs, shirts, and any
ther Marching gear you see fit!

- We'll be free to make ourselves known well into the
evening, with a police force to keep everyone safe.

- And yes, I really am going to invite the Phelps.

One other thing to brighten your day: you will
undoubtedly want to  see the church. Luckily, we
will only be a couple of blocks away. And while this
won't be officially MFM-sanctioned... well, I'll just
tell you what the Topeka police officer told me.
"They are still public streets." Just watch out for
two things: Don't block street traffic, and don't
take any "hate" signs directed at the Phelps clan
past the church (this can be construed as "picketing"
them. But you shouldn't have those anyway, because
you're better than that). Signs that do not contain
 a hateful message will probably be fine.

So... that's it! Please send any feedback my way --
good or bad -- and I'll respond as soon as I can.

See you all in a couple of weeks, and you'll be hearing
more from me between now and then. With your support,
this year's "can'ts" will become small hurdles for next
year's 2nd Annual MFM.

- Chris Love
sansphelps@yahoo.com