AFTAH’s Peter LaBarbera is hand-cuffed and arrested at the University of Regina–for refusing to abandon a protest led by Canadian pro-life/pro-family advocate Bill Whatcott.
AFTAH Canada Controversy in the News: AFTAH President Peter LaBarbera has left Canada and is now safely back in Chicago. There has been a lot of media coverage of his arrest Monday by Canadian police–as well as the previous controversy surrounding LaBarbera’s near-denial of entry into Canada on the basis that he would violate Canada’s “Hate Propaganda Law.” Here are a few stories:
LifeSiteNews: “American pro-family activist LaBarbera arrested in Canada” [click HERE]
CBC: “U.S. Anti-gay activist Peter LaBarbera arrested in Regina” [click HERE]
Regina [Saskatchewan Leader-Post: “Whatcott, LaBarbera arrested on U of R campus (with video)” [click HERE]
Barbwire.com: “U.S. Christian Peter LaBarbera arrested in Canada” [click HERE]
Montreal Gazette: “Anti-gay American speaker allowed entry into Canada after appeal” [click HERE]
Regina Leader-Post: “Anti-gay activist LaBarbera says he seeks civil debate” (with video) [click HERE]
WND.com: “Christian speaker’s entrance to Canada threatened” [click HERE]
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Dear AFTAH Readers,
I’m back home in the Land of the Free (well, at least we’re freer than Canada!)…Just a quick note here to let you know that I’m OK after being arrested in Saskatchewan, Canada, for standing up for free speech at a public university (U. of Regina) with Canadian pro-family/pro-life hero Bill Whatcott.
I will have an in-depth report tomorrow, but here are some key facts. I arrived home in Chicago late last night after cutting my week-long visit to Canada short to avoid a second hearing with Canadian Border Service agents on whether I could stay in the country.
The “Pro-Gay Thought Police” seemed to follow me wherever I went in Canada. When I entered the country through Regina [Saskatchewan] Airport last Thursday around 10:00 PM, I was detained for more than three hours as Border Security agents rifled through my luggage, laptop–and even my cell phone–searching for material that would violate Canada’s “Hate Propaganda” law. I hope that most Americans would be as shocked as I was to see government bureaucrats searching through my personal items for evidence of ideas and advocacy it wants to ban (in this case Judeo-Christian morality opposed to homosexual sin).
After the long wait and further questions (including reviewing the AFTAH website), I was formally denied entry into Canada, but elected to appeal the decision with the help of a Canadian attorney. The next day, as Whatcott and I went to the Border Security office at the airport prepared to make our appeal, we quickly discovered that the decision to overturn my entry ban was a done deal. Later we learned that political pressure had been brought to bear on Customs by some conservative Members of Parliament.
A huge THANK YOU to all who prayed for me and offered help to get me into Canada so I could honor my speaking commitment and thwart the arrogant political bullying of leftists who attempted to decide for EVERYONE who could speak at the pro-life event!
Once approved to enter Canada. I stood outside the airport before an array of Canadian reporters and showed them my passport allowing me to stay in Canada until Thursday, April 17 (tomorrow), as long as I did not violate any Canadian laws.
Pro-Life Hero Supports AFTAH
Linda Gibbons, a hero of the pro-life movement who has spent many months serving prison sentences as a result of her sacrificial efforts to save the unborn, championed AFTAH’s work against the homosexual agenda.
I gave my speech at the Saskatchewan Pro-Life Association and it was well-received, except by a group of protesters outside with signs–who were graciously allowed to attend the conference by SPLA organizers despite their previous attempt to block me as a speaker.
Many attendees expressed their gratitude at being able to hear a presentation on the homosexual agenda, and I was thrilled to have the support of Canadian pro-life hero Linda Gibbons, who has spent many months in jail for refusing to honor “bubble zone” speech codes outside abortion mills. I stressed that Christians need to be as principled against the homosexual activist agenda–including homosexual “marriage”–as they are in defending unborn life.
Arrested at U. of Regina
On Monday, I ventured out with Bill Whatcott to be part of his peaceful pro-life and anti-homosexual-agenda protest at the University of Regina. I brought along an AFTAH flier titled,’ “Is All Love ‘Equal’?” to educate students on the disproportionate health risks of LGBT behaviors (e.g., “The incidence of anal cancer is approximately 80 times that of the general population.”–HIV Essentials).
Immediately upon entering the campus, we were informed by a U.-Regina official that we were not welcome and ordered to leave. Bill responded that he had a right to be at the public campus under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that he would not leave. Whatcott’s right to protest at college campuses had already been affirmed twice by Canadian courts.
Two hours later, police arrived to inform Whatcott that if he did vacate the premises, he would be arrested. Ten minutes after that, Bill and I were being led away by police in hand-cuffs. I felt someone needed to join Bill in standing up for the simple right to speak in defense of biblical truth at a publicly-funded university. We were charged at first with trespassing but later it was changed to “mischief.”
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