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SOULFORCE MEDIA ALERT: April 6, 2005
For Immediate Release
Contact: Laura Montgomery Rutt
717-278-0592 laura@soulforce.org
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(Lynchburg, VA) On May 1, over 1000 gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender individual, couples, families and allies will be outside the entrance to James Dobson’s headquarters at Focus on the Family, to celebrate the worth, dignity, and Spirit evident in the lives of GLBT people, as well as confront Dobson’s anti-gay rhetoric and challenge his political influence.
We are expecting 75 media outlets from both inside and outside the United States at this "one of a kind" event, including a documentary film crew from California, a film crew from Canada, and local, state, and national television and newsprint.
A press conference will be held just prior to the rally in front of Focus on the Family, at 12:45pm, Sunday, May 1, 2005.
In order to accommodate the press, we will be issuing badges through the accreditation and RSVP process in advance. Seating for press is reserved up front for those who have been accredited. Please go to www.soulforce.org to link to the accreditation page. If you are in need of overnight accommodations, information on special arrangements for press will be sent to you via email once credentials have been verified.
A picnic and a rally are planned for Sunday right outside the entrance to Focus on the Family. Although we have requested four times that Dobson meet with us, he has either ignored or refused to personally acknowledge the invitation. Therefore, Soulforce plans to collect 1000 "messages for Dobson" during the rally detailing how his rhetoric has personally hurt families and individuals.
On Monday, May 2, we will conduct a "family intervention" in the Spirit of Love, and attempt to deliver the letters in person to Dobson at Focus on the Family, tour the facilities, chat with staff, and eat in their cafeteria. If we are denied access, a civil disobedience in the Spirit of Love and in accordance with the nonviolent principles taught by Gandhi and King is possible.
Both the picnic and the rally offer an incredible visual. Families, couples, individuals, and allies from all over the nation will provide an excellent opportunity for interviews. An "in unison" reading of Martin Luther King’s pledge to nonviolence will take place at the beginning of the rally, as well as a "new vision" for the world. All Information on speakers and entertainment is available from the website.
Over 50 churches and organizations have endorsed this event, and will be carrying their banners. Individuals will also be carrying signs and pictures of families and loved ones who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, or trangender.
Links to the endorsing organizations, press releases, schedule, the Soulforce booklet, "A FALSE FOCUS ON MY FAMILY: Why every person of faith should be deeply troubled by Dr. James Dobson’s dangerous and misleading words about the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community" documenting Dobson’s anti-gay rhetoric, as well as additional resources are available from www.soulforce.org.
For more information on press accreditation, or to schedule an interview, please email laura@soulforce.org.