The Gallant Gallstone
14th May 2010, 04:44
Courtesy of the Associated Press:
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Gettysburg National Military Park spokeswoman says a permit is likely to be granted for a white supremacist group to hold a rally at the battlefield next month.
Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon says the Aryan Nations group applied for the permit last week to hold a rally June 19 near the Cyclorama Center.
Lawhon said because the land is publicly owned, the park is "obligated to make it publicly available for exercising First Amendment rights" and make Gettysburg's historical resources "available to all Americans, even those whose views are contrary to the majority of the public."
In response, the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County has announced plans for a "celebration of diversity" on the same day. In 2006, the group held a "Community Unity Day" to counter a battlefield rally held by the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.
GETTYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A Gettysburg National Military Park spokeswoman says a permit is likely to be granted for a white supremacist group to hold a rally at the battlefield next month.
Park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon says the Aryan Nations group applied for the permit last week to hold a rally June 19 near the Cyclorama Center.
Lawhon said because the land is publicly owned, the park is "obligated to make it publicly available for exercising First Amendment rights" and make Gettysburg's historical resources "available to all Americans, even those whose views are contrary to the majority of the public."
In response, the YWCA Gettysburg & Adams County has announced plans for a "celebration of diversity" on the same day. In 2006, the group held a "Community Unity Day" to counter a battlefield rally held by the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan.