I mentioned the planned Equality Rides a few weeks ago — modeled after the student “Freedom Riders” of the 1960s who travelled around to centers of intolerance and bigotry, these students are traveling to Universities and military institutions that ban LGBT students. Yesterday, 20 equality ride students were arrested at Jerry Fallwell’s “Liberty” University.
LYNCHBURG, Va. – More than 20 gay rights activists were arrested on trespassing charges Friday as they tried to step onto the campus of Liberty University, the school founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
Many of the activists were part of Soulforce, a group on its first stop of a nationwide “Equality Ride” tour to promote gay rights at the nation’s conservative Christian universities and military academies.
Invoking the memory of the civil rights movement, Soulforce member Jacob Reitan said: “We want to come to the school today to say, ‘learn from history.'”
“We have a right to be here, because this school teaches that being gay is being sick and sinful,” said Reitan, co-director of Equality Ride. “We have a right to question and to show how we are children of God.”