Rights debate draws Internet attacks

Bloggers from other towns and states weigh in on issue.

JAMIE LOO, Tribune Staff Writer
5/20/06

SOUTH BEND -- The debate over a proposed change to a human rights ordinance has spilled out of city council chambers and into defamatory hate speech on the Internet, according to No Special Rights member Patrick Mangan.

No Special Rights, a group that opposes amendments that would extend civil rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, issued a statement Friday denouncing attacks on the group that are on Internet sites emanating from other parts of Indiana and across the country. Mangan said various Web sites such as Georgia Equality, Psychology News and the University of Florida's Queer News Gator-Gay Straight Alliance are weighing in on the issue in South Bend with "shockingly unkind defamatory comments."

Mangan said South Bend Common Council public hearings so far have been characterized on these sites as "hate-filled," and the sites called No Special Rights a "Christian hate group" and have labeled its members "bigots."

Mangan focused on one site, Advance Indiana, saying it has posted some of the most outrageous attacks. No Special Rights member Jay Dunlap had publicly talked about his gay brother, Tim, and Tim's death as a result of the gay lifestyle. In a recent post, blogger Gary Welsh said, "Tim Dunlap died because he didn't have a loving and caring family who accepted him for who God made him."

The statements set out to "demonize" those who are opposed to the proposed legislation, Mangan said. No Special Rights called for a public apology from Advance Indiana and asked South Bend Equality, along with council members Charlotte Pfeifer, D-2nd, and Roland Kelly, D-3rd, to "denounce and repudiate the actions of their supporters Advance Indiana." Mangan said if Pfeifer, Kelly and South Bend Equality don't publicly separate themselves from Advance Indiana, it will hurt the "sincerity of those who present a kind face on behalf of these changes."

Although that blog is based in Indianapolis, Mangan said he believes Advance Indiana is connected to South Bend Equality, which has been promoting the amendments.

Catherine Pittman, a member of South Bend Equality, said Friday that the group has no connection to Advance Indiana. After a call from The Tribune, Pittman said she looked at Welsh's Web site and feels that Advance Indiana is a blog by an individual and not sponsored by a gay rights group.

"South Bend Equality has been committed to treating all individuals with respect and compassion and we will continue to do so," Pittman said.

Welsh isn't a member of South Bend Equality, and Pittman said she doesn't understand how Mangan expects the group to control an individual outside of South Bend Equality or the creators of other Web sites weighing in on the issue.

"South Bend Equality has no control over blogs by an individual in Indianapolis," she said.

Pfeifer and Kelly both expressed concern that people outside of the city are disrespectfully commenting on groups involved with the proposed legislation. Pfeifer said Welsh had no right to judge the Dunlap family.

"I denounce any dialogue or any actions going on outside of South Bend that's defamatory against anyone on either side," Pfeifer said.

"I certainly denounce anyone who insults anyone on either side of the issue," Kelly said.

Pfeifer and Kelly said the public hearings have been civil, and both council members said they hope the dialogue will continue that way.

Welsh confirmed that Advance Indiana is the name of his personal blog and is not a group. The blog has no ties to South Bend Equality, he said.

Welsh said he will not apologize to No Special Rights for his "bigot" remarks because he is expressing his opinion on their beliefs about sexual orientation as a choice. As a gay man and a person of faith, Welsh said he finds it offensive when a group condemns gay people as immoral. It is the same argument used by religious groups for discrimination against women, African-Americans and other groups in history, he said.

In the interview and later on his blog, Welsh extended an apology to the Dunlap family for characterizing a family situation he wasn't part of.