Soulforce visits PBAU and, predictably, arrests ensue

The Christian gay rights advocacy/ministry group Soulforce visited Palm Beach Atlantic University yesterday and, as I discussed last week, there were confrontations and arrests. And, once more, I can't figure out what PBAU is so scared of ...

On Monday morning, Soulforce members gathered on a public sidewalk along Okeechobee Boulevard next to PBAU's campus and the DeSantis Family Chapel.

As the chapel bell rang at 11 a.m., signaling the beginning of services, a handful of Soulforce members approached the entrance.

"We're giving you the opportunity to go back to the sidewalk," a police officer said. "If you choose to remain here, you will be arrested."

Soulforce members had previously decided who would go to jail, if it came to that.

[...]

Becky Goodlet, a 21-year-old PBAU student, said she was glad Soulforce visited campus.

"There are a lot of people who have been sheltered their whole life, and this is good for them to see," she said. "I don't know a whole lot about it either, and that's why I want to speak with them."

Six Soulforce members (two of whom are shown above, in police custody) were arrested -- for what reason? It's a shame students like Goodlet weren't permitted to interact with Soulforce so that they could learn -- you know, the reason universities like PBAU purportedly exist?

Well, I know, it's simple, really -- for fundies, for wingnuts, for the Bush crime syndicate, it boils down to message control. And that's even more reason to keep pushing for a more open-minded, Democratic majority and presidency beginning next January.