Nonviolence 4 Equality

Civil Disobedience Action

Roles and Guidelines

[DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUT #1]

[DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUT #2] 

If you intend to get arrested in a Soulforce Action you must:

            - Be 18 yrs of age or older

            - Be a U.S. citizen

            - Have no outstanding arrest warrants and not be on probation.

            - Agree to follow the directions given to you by your squad leader.

            - Sign, wear, and uphold the Soulforce “pledge to nonviolence” used by

                        Dr. Martin Luther King and his marchers in 1963.

            - Be able to stay cool and remain silent even when people openly

                        project hatred at you.

No children under 18 or infants may accompany anyone on an arrest Action.  If you have a child in your care at the time of your arrest, the police are required to take your child away to the local social services office, and you may then have legal difficulties regaining custody.

Interacting with the Police: 

Show respect to the police at all times.  Our complaint is not with the police; it is with the poisoned theology and discriminatory policies of Christian churches.  We have come to do a non-violent Action and the police are here to help us complete that Action.  Our behavior toward the police is one of many opportunities that Soulforce has to witness to our cause and to earn the respect of those around us.

During an arrest, do not go limp and do not attempt to resist the arrest process in any way.  Any physical resistance to being arrested will be in violation of your Soulforce vows, will reflect very badly on Soulforce and could result in your being charged with Resisting Arrest.

Peacefully Opting-Out

If, for any reason prior to your actual arrest, you feel uncomfortable with the Action or your participation in it, you always have the option to peacefully walk away from your squad and physically remove yourself from the location of the Action.  If at any time you cannot in good conscience follow the directions given to you by your squad leader, or if you feel that your squad leader is asking you to put your personal safety in danger, we encourage you to walk away. Soulforce is not an authoritarian organization that demands unquestioning obedience; rather, we encourage you to use your common sense about your own safety and the safety of those around you.  However, please do not argue with your squad leader or start a debate on appropriate Action tactics.  Your choices are either to follow the directions from your squad leader, or to walk away. Once you have been arrested, obviously there is no longer a choice to opt out, because you will be in police custody.

Counter-Demonstrators

There are often anti-LGBT counter-demonstrators at Soulforce Actions, ranging from the silent to the openly hostile.  If you know that you’re a person quick to get angry and who might not be able to remain silent when faced with counter-demonstrators, you should not join this Soulforce Action. This policy is both for your protection as well as that of all Soulforce participants.

The openly hostile counter-demonstrators such as Fred Phelps are actively seeking media coverage, and they will try to goad you into confronting them.  Don’t give them any free press by doing so.

The correct behavior in the presence of counter demonstrators is to ignore them.  They have come to the Soulforce action to get attention, so the best thing you can do is not give them any.  If you engage them in any way - by arguing, starting a “my group can sing louder than your group” fight, yelling insults, or otherwise demonstrating your hostility - you will have lowered yourself and Soulforce to their level and the dispute will inevitably end up on the evening news, damaging our cause.  We can send a very powerful, positive message to the press and other observers if, in the face of open hostility, we peacefully, silently and determinedly move forward with our Action while ignoring the hostility.

Arrest/Action Logistics

This is our best summary of the Action based on our current plans and discussions with the police. Actions can sometimes change at the last moment due to the police getting cold feet, counter-protestors in unexpected locations or any new issues that were not possible to anticipate during the Action planning.  However, barring unexpected developments, this is what we expect to happen.

- All arrestees who attend one of the training sessions will be assigned to a squad leader.  We will have extra squad leaders ready to accept people who were unable to attend one of the training sessions.  All squads will be 10-15 people.

- At the appropriate time, we will move, one squad at a time, to the main driveway entrance to the National Shrine, stand shoulder-to-shoulder and symbolically attempt to enter the Shrine property.

- The Police will warn us that we are trespassing and advise us to disburse.  When we remain, a group of police officers will come in and place us under arrest.  We will be charged with misdemeanor trespass and will be taken to a central processing location, probably away from the Shrine.

- The Washington, D.C. court system has not decided the charge in advance.  If the demonstration proceeds peacefully our expectation and theirs is that the charge will be a low-level misdemeanor with a fine of approximately $100 and no jail sentence. 

- Law enforcement officers are watchful for the possibility of a major disturbance being caused by the interaction of Soulforce with counter-demonstrators.  If a physical disturbance begins for any reason, regardless of “who started it”, the police have warned us that they will press much more serious charges against everyone involved.  It is therefore very important, as at all Soulforce Actions, to uphold your vows to refrain from violence of the fist, violence of the tongue, and violence of the heart.

Action Changes and Abort Process

Any changes to Action logistics will be relayed to squad leaders by action planners.  We intend that each squad leader will have a two-way radio to facilitate communication between the senior leaders and the squad leaders.

Although we don’t presently expect any counter-demonstrators who are openly violent, the police may, if they see the potential for violent conflict or a similar disturbance, ask us to abort the Action for our own safety.  If an abort decision is made, senior leaders will relay the specific abort instructions to the squad leaders.  We don’t expect to have to do this, but we want you to know in advance that the possibility exists.

[DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUT #1] (provided by Soulforce)

[DOWNLOADABLE HANDOUT #2] (ACT-UP San Diego CD Guidelines provided courtesy of Wendy Sue Biegeleisen, Membership Coordinator of S.A.M.E. (San Diego Alliance for Marriage Equality))