Elderly Prop. 8 supporter roughed up, filing charges

Allie Martin and Charlie Butts - OneNewsNow - 11/14/2008 6:00:00 AM

An elderly California woman will file charges against homosexuals who attacked her during a protest against the passage of Proposition 8.

Last Friday evening, homosexual activists and their supporters gathered at the Palm Springs City Hall, protesting voter approved Prop. 8, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. Phyllis Burgess went to the rally, and carried a Styrofoam cross through the crowd.

As ABC affiliate KESQ-TV carried that rally live, homosexuals surrounded the 69-year-old woman, began pushing her, reportedly spit on her, and grabbed the cross from her arms and threw it on the ground. (See video report)

Burgess remained calm throughout the melee. "I was really so overflowing with peacefulness in my heart that I just couldn't see this," she says. "It wasn't in my mind, it really wasn't."

Initially, Burgess said she did not want to file charges, but changed her mind after authorities encouraged her to do so (see related video). She says she went to the rally "just to get my remarks across at my city hall, where I have lived for 30 years." She adds: "If it takes endangerment, should that stop me? I'm a senior -- we respect elder abuse in this city."

Police are reviewing video in hopes of identifying suspects. Charges would be assault and vandalism, both misdemeanors.

The 'true face' of opponents
Randy Thomasson of the Campaign for Children and Families says the attack on Burgess is one of many incidents in California directed at supporters of traditional marriage. He notes that, among the rage and shouting displayed at the rally, protestors also used the "n-word" against black people.

Thomasson equates their behavior with a toddler's temper tantrum, saying that homosexuals are demonstrating their deep intolerance for not only people who believe real marriage exists between a man and a woman, but also for people of faith and color.

"America needs to see the true face of the homosexual activists who are intolerant against people of faith and anyone who believes in real marriage between a man and a woman," he contends.

According to Thomasson, the peaceful marches of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., are drastically different than the recent violent displays, mainly because King was seeking natural civil rights and homosexuals are demanding public endorsement of their "unnatural sexual behavior."