posted on August 4, 2004 09:49:00 PM new
Man Defends Spreading Manure at Gay Parade
By JAMES JEFFERSON
Associated Press Writer
August 2, 2004, 6:39 PM EDT
CONWAY, Ark. -- A farmer who acknowledged spreading 3 tons of manure along the route of a gay rights parade pleaded innocent Monday, saying he was exercising his constitutional right to free speech.
Two former radio disc jockeys pleaded innocent to handing out gay pornography at the June 27 parade.
The farmer, Wesley Bono, 35, of Greenbrier, is accused of dumping the manure in front of a gay couple's home and spreading it along two city streets.
Bono said before his court appearance on a misdemeanor harassment charge that he was exercising a constitutional right.
"Under the First Amendment, a man is allowed to protest. That's what I was doing," Bono told KATV. "I didn't do it as a hate crime, or any crime at all."
His trial is set for Sept. 16. If convicted, he could be sentenced to perform community service and pay for the cleanup. Conway officials have not said how much it cost them to clean up the mess.
In the obscenity case, Phillip Beard and Christine Brown, both disc jockeys at KABZ-FM of Little Rock, are accused of handing out obscene material to minors. A 16-year-old boy said Beard, dressed only in a skimpy black swimsuit during the parade, gave him a DVD of gay porn.
KABZ canceled their show.
"I don't feel as though I've done anything wrong," Brown said after her arraignment. She called the legal process "very overwhelming."
They could face up to five years in prison and $2,000 fines if convicted; their trial is set for the week of Oct. 5.
Prosecutor H.G. Foster said he doubted Brown or Beard would do time.
"This is an important case, but it's mostly important as a societal statement," Foster said. "There are very few who would disagree that when it comes to distribution of explicit materials, generally as a society, we think that's unacceptable."
posted on August 5, 2004 05:55:23 AM new
What the farmer did was not freedom of speech unless he put the maneur in his mouth and spit it out while talking or wrote a letter in it. (Oh, yuk). It was a vicious and hateful act. A hate crime. There is a huge difference between speaking or writing what is on one's mind and the act of dumping anything.
Phillip Beard and Christine Brown broke the law plain and simple. Handing out porn (straight or gay) to a minor is against the law and the appropriate punishment needs to be handed out.
Nothing like taking twisted acts and trying to put a spin on them to make them sound legal. Nothing legal about either case.
Cheryl
. . .if you still try to defend the infamies and horrors perpetrated by that Antichrist- I really believe he is Antichrist- I will have nothing more to do with you and you are no longer my friend.. . - War and Peace, Tolstoy
posted on August 5, 2004 06:13:49 PM new
Pay his fine? Hell, I want to know if he hires out. I have a couple of 'statements' I'd like to make. This could start a fad.
