Downstate LGBT residents are planning a protest April 12 against electronic billboard ads near Marion, Ill., that regularly espouse anti-gay messages.
The ads "basically say that any family that is not a father and mother is an abomination," said Vincent Miskelley of Marion, who is helping to organize the rally. "They say the gay marriage should be overturned, and attack single mothers as wellthey are telling us we should not have rights."
The ads are paid for by Church Without Walls ( CWW ), a religious group based in Herrin, Ill., that boasts on its website, "We do not have a building nor do we want one!" According to the website, the group regularly meets in different locations throughout nearby towns, among them Marion and Carterville. They also regularly protest at Hope Clinic for Women, where women can access abortions, in Granite City, Ill. The organization says the billboards "are a very integral part of our ministry. It is our prayer that the Lord Jesus would open doors for us to have the same billboard ads displayed at other locations."
The website also mentions that CWW has a contract with Baton Rouge, La.-based Lamar Advertising for $32,000 for ads on the billboard, located between Marion and Carterville.
Miskelley said that many in the community, gay and straight, have been finding the ads objectionable. "We started out with six people in our group, but Saturday we should have about 100 people going out to protest," he added.
The area LGBT community is small, with only one gay bar within a 100-mile radius. Miskelley regularly does a drag performance in an area straight bar, where he said he often meets gay-friendly locals. He predicted a diverse crowd Saturday: "We're going to have single moms and we're going to have transgender people as well."
Despite many supportive residents, being gay in a small town can be difficult, he said, adding that a teenager in the area had recently been driven to suicide because of bullying. "I know people are entitled to their first amendment rights and all that, but are these [ads] something we should have to drive by and see every day?" Miskelley asked.