Crystal Lake Gay Games Fail 2-2
With one member of the ruling faction missing from the 5-member Crystal Lake Park Board meeting Tuesday night, the proposal to hold the rowing contest on Crystal Lake in mid-July was defeated on a 2-2 tie vote. Tie votes fail.
Voting in favor were ruling faction members Candy Reedy and Michael Zellmann. In opposition were Commissioners Dave Phelps and Scot Breeden. Watching were about 100 residents, many of whom from Crystal Lake spoke against the proposal. Most, but not all of those speaking in favor of the Gay Games were from out of town.
“The Gay Games are coming, but one community says, ‘Not in our town,’” was the WMAQ-TV teaser before its 10 o’clock news. And, at the top of the Channel 5 news, “Some say, ‘Not in my neighborhood.” Channel 9 also covered the meeting. At 6, WBBM-TV ran a story interviewing Northwest Herald letter writer Donna Clasen, the minister of the Woodstock Unitarian Church.
With gays, lesbians and their parents coming from as far away as Plainfield, the debate was largely about the role the Gay Games have in promoting the gay and lesbian agenda.
When I was leaving the park district building I heard one woman talking about the possibility of a lawsuit on her cell phone.
The rest of the pretty long story is on McHenry County Blog, as are other articles on the rowing event proposed for Crystal Lake. Here is an index of all the blog postings on Crystal Lake and the Gay Games.
7 comments:
I wish Rev Larson would get real. He makes this comment They're [Gays] doing this because they face discrimination in so many other places.
Well, the reason the Gay games are Good for McHenry is because the Gays bring money and someone thinks that's good for McHenry. That's hardly the function of a persecuted group.
Some people think the Gay Games also bring an overt sexuality; and would just as soon forgo the Gay's dollars and their games.
Some people think we sexualize our kids poorly enough in our hyper sexualized mass culture. They want a break from it.
I don't blame them. And a little disgusted a Reverand can't pick up on that, and turns a legitimate compliant into a civil rights issue. It's phoney.
And this Unitarian Universalist just down the river sees through it.
I would suggest to read the rest of the article on McHenryCountyBlog.com.
There is no doubt that not wanting to advance the gay political agenda in Crystal Lake was a major motivating factor of many opponents in the audience. The AP story this morning points out that one commissioner, David Phelps, said pretty much that.
The other commissioner voting against the proposal, Scott Breeden, lives in the 400-some subdivision bordering the lake. He took great offense at perceiving he was being called a bigot by the Northwest Herald, which is where he, as a park board commissioner, learned of the proposal. (He should have been reading the Tribune or my blog.)
Before voting, he pointed out that he already had five weekend days each summer "when I can't leave my house" because of a massive influx of people at the Main Beach. This event could be expected to add massive traffic congestion to the park district beaches at both ends of the the lake, which he lives between. He specifically mentioned "the impact on my life style."
Four of the days are taken up by the Cardboard Regatta/CL Gala celebration, which are held on successive weekends.
(Another resident of the subdivision Breeden lives in echoed his position in a letter to the Northwest Herald. Complaining about traffic congestion, he suggested combining the Gay Games with the Gala and renaming it the "Gayla.")
Breeden began the meeting saying that anyone who knew his family situation could not possible accuse him of bigotry. I don't know what that means and I doubt anyone reading this comment does either.
Glad to see bigotry is alive and well in the 'burbs. Nice work, Crystal Lake.
You don't think the Gay Games would have brought an influx of people into the town, to shop in the stores, to eat at restaurants, etc.? So I guess they're willing to discriminate, even if it means giving up potential additional revenue. Shame, shame.
That's the crass thing Tony.
Gay activists ask people to trade their sexual ethics for money.
It's not government's job to foster acceptance of anyone's sexuality.
It's not government's job to celibrate anyone's sexuality.
It is government's job to protect one's life and liberty.
If your an internatialist sort, you'd say it's America's job to foster liberty and democracy througout the world.
Right now a Gay's best champion for life and liberty in the Middle East is George Bush.
Once the activists behind the Gay Games recongize that fact, or even just get around to recognizing hanging Gay Teens in Iran a crime worth publicaly protesting; I'll be one of those outsiders asking McHenry citzens to host games for Universal Human Rights througout the world.
Maybe the vote would turn out different.
I hate homosexuals, but I love lesbians.
Glad to see bigotry is alive and well in the 'burbs. Nice work, Crystal Lake.
You don't think the Gay Games would have brought an influx of people into the town, to shop in the stores, to eat at restaurants, etc.? So I guess they're willing to discriminate, even if it means giving up potential additional revenue. Shame, shame.
Well Tony, don't move here. Invite them to your community if you like it so much. We don't need the money. So it doesn't hurt our community. How about just leaving people alone who don't want them in their face? We voted no. It's our right as a community. Do you pay Crystal Lake taxes? If so, then contact your alderman. If not, let us govern ourselves. That's supposed to be the founding principle of this country, anyway.
We have plenty of people shopping in our stores. Our restaurants are always full. They won't be missed.
Larry Horse, you also should invite them to have their events in your community. If you think it's so disgraceful, don't move here. We're doing pretty well without you, anyway. You'll not be missed. We actually enjoy governing ourselves and are quite prosperous without meddling from holier-than-thou outsiders. You'd fit in perfect in the Bush administration.
You may want to read the First Amendment yourself. Though it has been completely ignored, the First Amendment says only Congress shall not abridge free speech. When the writers of the Constitution meant the rights of the people shall not be infringed, such as in the Second Amendment, they wrote it. When they meant an Amendment applied only to Congress, they wrote it. Then they said all powers not delegated to the Congress are reserved to the States and to the people.
It's not unconstitional (though it's been wrongly interpreted as such by activist judges) and most certainly not immoral for localities to deny either the Boy Scouts or the homos or the Nazis or whomever access to local public lands. Federal lands, yes.
If you don't like the First Amendment, lobby your Congressman and Senator to amend it, but please don't pretend what it says is not what it means.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
I didn't see anything in their about the State of Illinois, the country of McHenry, the city of Crystal Lake. Only Congress is mentioned. Not even some generic government. Congress. If you don't like it, change it, don't ignore it.
The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.
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