10-Year-Old Grand Marshal at Gay Rights Parade Sparks Controversy Across U.S

[st_lucy]

When the Fayetteville, Ark., Gay Pride Parade steps off on East Street Saturday on its way to the Wal-Mart parking lot
, it will be led by a young man who has made a career out of fighting for gay rights.

Make that a young boy. Will Phillips, the grand marshal, is 10 years old, and his presence has thrust Fayetteville’s Gay Pride Parade into the national spotlight.

it goes on to say:

The AFA, according to Fischer, has sent an “action alert” to its members in Arkansas, and he says they have deluged the mayor’s and city council’s office with e-mails “asking him to stop this charade.” Though there are no plans to actively protest at the parade, Fischer said, “as of noon Thursday our records show that the mayor and city council had received 12,300 e-mails asking them to stop the parade.”

It is an argument that young Will Phillips doesn’t accept. The boy has begun a media blitz of local and national television stations, explaining that he refused to recite the Pledge of Allegiance because it says “all men are created equal,” but gays don’t have the same rights as everyone else. That, the boy says, is why he has become an ambassador of gay rights.

Read it all here.

 

[Dale_M]

According to the article, this is only controversial because a Religious Right pressure group has sent out a nationwide email to its followers.
the article:

In reaction to the AFA’s charges that children who attend the parade would be in danger, organizer Joney Harper said: “We are not San Francisco … New York … we’re pretty much a family affair, so it is pretty safe to be there.”

We’ve seen this before from the AFA: wild accusations without any knowledge of what is happening (or what happened) locally.

 

[Peggy_in_Burien]

The child is obviously being used by folks who don’t even know the US Pledge of Allegience:

The Pledge:

I pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation, under God,
with liberty and justice for all.

No where in there do I see the words “all men are created equal.” Those words come from the Declaration of Independence, and do not even appear in our Constitution.

 

[Mark77]

**Using any innocent 10 year old to promote any agenda is obviously wrong!

All men & women are created equal! God loves us so much that He allows us to choose our own fate!!**

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, Ora pro Nobis Peccatoribus!

mark

 

[Darz]

The child is obviously being used by folks who don’t even know the US Pledge of Allegience:

The Pledge:

I pledge allegience to the flag of the United States of America,
and to the Republic for which it stands,
one nation, under God,
with liberty and justice for all.

No where in there do I see the words “all men are created equal.” Those words come from the Declaration of Independence, and do not even appear in our Constitution.

I believe the article misquoted him. I’ve seen other sources that highlight him speaking to the “liberty and justice for all” section of the pledge.