Nine preachers were arrested Saturday
protesting New Orleans' 41st annual gay mardi gras,
Southern Decadence.
The anti-gay preachers carried signs
which read “Homo Sex Is Sin” and “Homo Sex Is A Threat To
National Security.”
Eight protesters were arrested on
suspicion of aggressive solicitation, according to The
Times-Picayune's website, Nola.com.
The ordinance, approved in October,
prohibits “any person or group of persons to loiter or congregate
on Bourbon Street for the purpose of disseminating any social,
political or religious message between the hours of sunset and
sunrise.”
According to police, the men ignored
previous warnings not to use bullhorns. A ninth man, Justin Craft,
31, allegedly punched an officer when he attempted to confiscate his
bullhorn. He was arrested on suspicion of battery, resisting an
officer and interfering with a law enforcement investigation,
Nola.com
reported.
In a clip uploaded to YouTube.com,
Ruben Israel of OfficialStreetPreachers.com denied that there was any
“pushing and shoving involved” and insisted that “this whole
thing is just simply to send a message.”
He added that 19 people participated in
the protest.
(Related: Gay
festival Southern Decadence to blame for Hurricane Isaac.)