GLN and West Suburban PFLAGers To Protest Anti-Gay Banquet
A little over a year after his apparent forced resignation from the Illinois Family Institute (IFI) following a string of failures, anti-gay activist Peter LeBarbera is back with the inaugural banquet for his new group, "Americans for Truth About Homosexuality." In 2006 LeBarbera attempted to get an anti-gay advisory referendum on the Illinois state ballot, and in 2008 he's vowed to try again.
The Gay Liberation Network (GLN), which played an important role in prompting LeBarbera's failures by dogging IFI events with protests pointing out the anti-equal rights message of the IFI, will join west suburban PFLAG members in protesting against LeBarbera's new organization. The protest will be at 5:30 - 7:30 PM, Friday, October 5 in front of the Embassy Suites Hotel, 707 E. Butterfield Road in Lombard, IL.
The Lombard Embassy Suites is managed by the Hilton Hotel chain. GLN is encouraging pro-equality forces to contact Embassy Suites and Hilton Hotels to persuade their managements to cancel the anti-gay event:
The Naperville Holiday Inn, which was the original venue for LeBarbera's banquet, canceled it after pro-gay activists contacted Holiday Inn management and informed them of the gay-hating nature of LeBarbara's event.
While LeBarbera has the right to free speech, no private business is under any obligation to provide a venue for such speech, especially when it involves promoting hate and discrimination against any group. By being outside of the Embassy Suites Hotel Friday night we will be exercising our own free speech rights and pointing out the pro-hate nature of LeBarbera's groups.
Around the world, LGBT people are being denied the right to assemble by governments supported by bigots of the LaBarbera variety. Given the opportunity, LaBarbera and his cohorts would institute the same repressive measures here.
Nicolai Alexeyev will join our protest in Lombard at the Embassy Suites. Those who are able to leave work early and/or join us at the hotel by 5:30 are urged to do so. Highway directions are as follows: Eisenhower expy to I88, exit Highland, turn right to Butterfield, right to Embassy Suites.
