KKK & Vision America Agree
Hello Drag Queen Turned John Paul??
Local KKK group planning to rally.
Rev. Rick Scarborough of Vision America supports KKK position...reportedly considers cosponsoring this KKK "Christian" rally.
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By PAUL A. ANTHONY
The San Angelo chapter of a Ku Klux Klan group again is planning a rally against illegal immigration - this time in Amarillo.
The protest, planned for Aug. 5 at Amarillo City Hall, will be the second in as many months for the local white-supremacist group, whose June 17 rally in Midland sparked violent counter-protests.
''That's the beauty of the First Amendment,'' said Amarillo City Attorney Marcus Norris. ''Either it works for all, or it works for none.''
The group, affiliated with the Alabama-based Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, was invited by Klan sympathizers in Amarillo to speak about the group's position on illegal immigration, said Lee Thompson, one of the group's leaders, in an e-mail.
On June 17, nearly two dozen San Angelo Klan members rallied on the Midland County Courthouse lawn, arguing against President Bush's proposed guest-worker program for illegal immigrants. Clashes between police and counter-protesters resulted in seven arrests, according to Midland police.
The group also staged a November rally, as part of a different KKK group, in Austin against gay marriage.
The Empire Knights is one of dozens of groups across the country claiming a KKK affiliation, although no national Klan has existed since the 1930s.
The group applied for a rally permit in early July, Norris said. The city granted it after placing restrictions on the sizes of signs and poles, to avoid the potential of their being used as weapons, he said.
Amarillo city officials are taking some lessons from Midland's experience, Norris said, further restricting counter-protesters and discouraging potential spectators from attending the rally.
Seventy-five Amarillo police officers - all veterans, Norris said, with no rookies or first-year officers - will patrol the rally, with support from Potter County deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
''It's just one more political event in the city for us,'' Norris said. ''We've got to spend more money. I guess this is the price of living in a democracy.''
The protest, planned for Aug. 5 at Amarillo City Hall, will be the second in as many months for the local white-supremacist group, whose June 17 rally in Midland sparked violent counter-protests.
''That's the beauty of the First Amendment,'' said Amarillo City Attorney Marcus Norris. ''Either it works for all, or it works for none.''
The group, affiliated with the Alabama-based Empire Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, was invited by Klan sympathizers in Amarillo to speak about the group's position on illegal immigration, said Lee Thompson, one of the group's leaders, in an e-mail.
On June 17, nearly two dozen San Angelo Klan members rallied on the Midland County Courthouse lawn, arguing against President Bush's proposed guest-worker program for illegal immigrants. Clashes between police and counter-protesters resulted in seven arrests, according to Midland police.
The group also staged a November rally, as part of a different KKK group, in Austin against gay marriage.
The Empire Knights is one of dozens of groups across the country claiming a KKK affiliation, although no national Klan has existed since the 1930s.
The group applied for a rally permit in early July, Norris said. The city granted it after placing restrictions on the sizes of signs and poles, to avoid the potential of their being used as weapons, he said.
Amarillo city officials are taking some lessons from Midland's experience, Norris said, further restricting counter-protesters and discouraging potential spectators from attending the rally.
Seventy-five Amarillo police officers - all veterans, Norris said, with no rookies or first-year officers - will patrol the rally, with support from Potter County deputies and Texas Department of Public Safety troopers.
''It's just one more political event in the city for us,'' Norris said. ''We've got to spend more money. I guess this is the price of living in a democracy.''
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