Berkley staff, gay and lesbian group to support school

Stephen Curran

Monday, May 10, 2004 | 9:44 a.m.

A Las Vegas gay and lesbian advocacy group will team up on Wednesday with representatives from Rep. Shelley Berkley's staff to protest a Kansas religious group staging an appearance at a local high school, a representative for the congresswoman said Friday.

Members of the Gay and Lesbian Community Center of Southern Nevada, a Las Vegas advocacy group, are staging a counter-protest across the street from where members of the Westboro Baptist Church will stage a protest of a Las Vegas Academy production of "The Laramie Project," Bob Bellis, the organization's executive director, said. "The Laramie Project" is a play about University of Wyoming student Matt Shepherd, who was killed in 1998 because he was gay,

The church, whose members travel the country to protest gay-themed events, are in town this week to appear as guests on shock-jock Howard Stern's radio show at the Hard Rock Hotel, church representatives said Thursday.

Berkley has been in touch with Las Vegas Academy principal Stephen Clark to lend her support. A representative from her office will also be on hand at Wednesday's counterprotest, said David Cherry, a spokesman for the congresswoman.

"She (Berkley) is certainly in support of the students and is outraged at the discriminatory efforts of those who are opposed to this production," he said.

Berkley, who was in Indiana on Friday, was unavailable for comment. She will not attend Wednesday's counter-protest because of an engagement in Washington, D.C., Cherry said.

Bellis said he has also been in contact with representatives from the Northwest Community and Metropolitan Community churches, gay-friendly churches which he said have expressed interest in participating in the "peaceful demonstration."

More than 50 people gathered on May 5 at the Gay and Lesbian Community Center to discuss the upcoming counterprotest. Those who attended were instructed to avoid contact and "violent backlashes to comments" by church members, Bellis said.

Representatives from Northwest Community Church were not available for comment Friday. Metropolitan Community Church has not yet decided if it will participate in the counter-protest, a spokeswoman said.

The counter-protesters have received training from the American Civil Liberties Union on how to protest non-violently, Bellis said.

"What we're going to do is have a peaceful demonstration," he said. "The main purpose is to let the students know we support them and we appreciate them doing the play. Our main concern is for the kids."

Cynthia Luria, regional director of the Nevada Anti-Defamation League, was unaware of the church's plan to protest the school, but classified Fred Phelps and his organization as "particularly virulent."

However, the ADL often instructs opposition groups to ignore hate speech, she said.

"We always encourage people not to get in a dialogue (with hate groups) because that's (when the dialogue stops) when he won't show up anymore," Luria said. "There's no reason to give them any more coverage."

The church has appeared on several celebrity-based events, said Shirley Phelps-Roper, the church's lawyer and Phelps' daughter in a previous interview with the Sun, including Rikki Lake's television talk show, newsmagazine "20/20."