Impassioned Demonstrators Make for A Lively Day in Simi Valley

Here’s the backstory. The United Church of Christ in Simi Valley elected to join the New Sanctuary Movement and shelter an illegal alien and her U.S. born son. Liliana is subject to deportation and chose to go into “sanctuary” (there is legally no such thing in the U.S.) ICE actually facilitated the sanctuary move by not arresting her at her home. When she complained that she is breast feeding her child, ICE gave her a few days to get her affairs in order. Liliana chose to thumb her nose at the generosity and appealed to the New Sanctuary Movement to shelter her. Now anti-illegal immigration and pro-illegal immigration groups are standing nose to nose on the issue.

Yesterday, the two groups held opposing demonstrations in front of the church, each trying to out-shout the other. There is not much print coverage on the event, but you can read about it in a Ventura County Star article, Protesters target Simi church.

Each side of the equation was passionate in expressing their position on these important issues of our time. People took great efforts and sacrificed a goodly portion of their Sunday to exercise their First Amendment rights. As raucous and disrespectful as it may have been, you’ve got to admire folks who have better things to do than to go to the Minneapolis airport to view the bathroom stall where Senator Larry Craig was arrested. I wrote on the vacuous bathroom voyeurs in Shallow Is As Shallow Does.

Public demonstrations are expensive to police, and we all pay the bill. But, it is a cost of freedom that must be borne. We owe a debt of gratitude to those people willing to stand up for their beliefs, no matter on which side the line they stand.

Links in this blog:
Protesters target Simi church

Shallow Is As Shallow Does