The World Congress of Families conference has started in the Melbourne suburb of Hallam.
This is one of the more unaccessible suburbs in the city, so not as many people are there as what had been initially talked about when it was being hosted at other venues.
The Guardian is reporting "about 100" protesters there. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation is reporting "about 50". The Herald Sun is reporting "more than 40".
During the demonstration, police pulled protesters away to protect the attendees, and two men were arrested. They have now been released.
I've seen no reports of violence, so the religious right can shut up now about how intolerant we are.
http://www.theguardian.com/...
http://www.abc.net.au/...
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/...
8:22 PM PT: The Age is reporting that a pro-choice protester who was able to get into the event stormed the stage, yelled "we don't want your backyard abortions" and was then removed.
http://www.theage.com.au/...
8:26 PM PT: Organizer Margaret Butts has defended the claim that abortion causes breast cancer. She said:
"Nobody wants to listen to the science linking abortion and breast cancer. We have all these speakers and people won’t even listen to the evidence before making up their minds."
The she admits that she is not in tune to science. The Guardian reports:
Asked if she had ever read a peer-reviewed medical journal, she replied, “I don’t know what that is.
“But I can give you some literature about abortion.”
Sat Aug 30, 2014 at 12:06 AM PT: The Australian football team I support, Essendon, just had a draw with their arch-rival, Carlton. It has no relation to the WCF, but if you're interested in seeing something else out of Melbourne, then this is a good example. You can watch the last two minutes here.
http://www.afl.com.au/...
Sat Aug 30, 2014 at 1:16 AM PT: The event is now over. Ultimately, the relatively remote location limited the size of the protest. The Australia reports that "less than 50" attended the protest.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/...
With no violence and only two civil disobedience arrests that weren't followed up, everyone has behaved well. The rights's narrative that we are intolerant took a big hit today.
Thanks to everyone who's been following the recent events. It's made a big difference in fighting back against WCF. After you signed the petitions calling for the withdrawal of politicians, they did withdraw. Overall, this is a great story about how people do indeed have the power to fight back against hatred and bigotry.
Sat Aug 30, 2014 at 2:54 PM PT: The Age is reporting that a WCF attendee assaulted a protestor.
http://media.theage.com.au/...
Who's really being intolerant here?