Sunday, Jul 20, 2008
A drag show kicks off a week of abortion protests, as gays and pro-life Christians square off in a culture-war showdown.
Apr 19, 1999 | The woman in a man's suit sauntered down the runway smoking a cigar, music pounding, a cowboy hat held over her crotch, and the crowd packed into the hall clapped and hooted with joy. Suddenly the "drag king" stopped and swept the hat aside, revealing an enormous flesh-colored dildo protruding from her fly. The crowd roared, even louder when one woman lept from her seat and began performing mock fellatio on the sex toy. The crowd of 250 people, mostly gays and lesbians, went wild.
Welcome to hell, Rev. Benham.
The drag show Saturday night in a rented American Legion hall in this wary, rain-swept city certainly would have appalled Rev. Flip Benham and his Operation Rescue, which kicks off its campaign here Monday against abortion clincs, book stores, high schools and other outposts of what it calls "Godless America."
Buffalo, still reeling from the unsolved slaying of abortion doctor Barnett Slepian here last Oct. 23, and protests which culminated with nearly 700 arrests in 1992, gave a cool official welcome to the anti-abortion protesters, unlike the previous pro-life mayor's enthusiastic invitation in 1992.
Flanked by police and fire officials Friday, Mayor Anthony Masiello scorned the protesters as outside agitators who were attempting to divide the city and "could care less what they leave behind."
"Let's all hope and pray that it's peaceful and that we can move on with tranquility," he added.
Organizers of the drag show, a benefit for Buffalo United for Choice, were not optimistic however, expecting the protesters to challenge new restrictions on how close they can get to abortion clinics, issued by a federal judge last week.
Asked about that at a news conference outside the courthouse downtown Sunday, Benham said "no comment." A colleague of Benham's confided afterward, however, that "it hasn't been decided yet, to tell the truth." Operation Rescue was also reported by sources to be planning to "wake up America" by disrupting morning rush-hour traffic at a major Buffalo intersection Monday.
Get Salon in your mailbox!