A protest rally to demand the
resignation of Midland School Board member Clint McCance met with
resistance from anti-gay counter protesters on Thursday, the
Arkansas Times reported.
Holding out signs that read “All Kids
Matter” and “RESIGN,” the 35 people protesting McCance's
anti-gay rant on Facebook faced about 10 counter protesters with
shirts that read “Pro-Bible” and a sign that read “Get away
from our kids.”
The protest was helmed by the Little
Rock-based gay rights group Center for Artistic Revolution.
Protesters are demanding the ouster of
McCance over comments he made on his Facebook profile.
In responding to Spirit Day, a day that
encourages people to wear purple to remember gay teens bullied to
death, McCance
cheers the suicides, says he “enjoys the fact that [gay people]
they often give each other aids and die,” and declares he would
disown his children if they were gay.
Counter protester arrived in a Ford
pickup truck bearing an American flag.
“All these people here, the way I see
it, they need to take their signs and go back to the city,” Matt
Martin told the paper. “Around here we believe in what the Bible
says and the Bible says marriage is between a man and woman.”
“We don't need the gay rights people
to come in and support our homosexuals because there is none,” he
added. “If there is, they're in the closet.
Gay
glossy The Advocate is reporting that McCance, who was elected
to the school board in 2007, is up for re-election on November 2, but
is running unopposed.
Max Brantley, editor of the Arkansas
Times, wrote in a blog post Wednesday that he had spoken to
McCance about the incident. McCance only said that he had received
hundreds of calls on the matter and wasn't speaking because, “I
have a family to consider.” The 30-something father-of-two did
disclose that he was consulting with an attorney.
Dr. Tom Kimbrell, the director of the
Arkansas Department of Education, issued a strongly-worded statement
against McCance on Wednesday, but stopped short of endorsing calls
for his resignation.
“I strongly condemn the statements
that appeared on Mr. Clint McCance's Facebook page,” Kimbrell wrote
in a statement. “These comments in no way represent the viewpoints
of the thousands of dedicated public school board members,
administrators, faculty, staff and students in Arkansas.”
A
Facebook group calling for McCance's ouster has swelled to over
50,000 members in just two days.