San Francisco, Calif., Oct 1, 2007 / 08:32 am
Following controversy over San Francisco's Folsom Street Fair and its lewd, profane advertisements, United States House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has faced strident criticism for refusing to condemn the event and its publicity.
The Folsom Street Fair, a homosexual festival of hedonism scheduled for Sunday September 30, receives some taxpayer funding and is co-sponsored by the Miller Brewing Company. It has been advertised using a mocking re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci's painting The Last Supper, with costumed sadomasochists taking the place of Christ and His Disciples.
Concerned Women for America, the nation's largest public policy women's organization, has spearheaded national opposition to the festival. Matt Barber, CWA's Policy Director for Cultural Issues, assailed the event: "we have photographic evidence that the San Francisco government suspends indecency and child abuse laws for a day allowing fair goers to parade the streets of San Francisco, fully nude, engaging in illegal public sex while tax-payer funded police stand by and do nothing. Children are allowed to - and do - attend this event and are exposed to this activity which is illegal child abuse."
Mr. Barber has called on local politicians to distance themselves from the festival. "...we requested that California's elected officials, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, publicly condemn this anti-Christian, anti-Catholic ad. Instead, Nancy Pelosi responded to our request with a condescending and dismissive quip."
Speaker Pelosi, a Democrat, represents the San Francisco area in the House of Representatives. Her press secretary Drew Hammill is reported to have addressed the controversy: "As a Catholic, the speaker is confident that Christianity has not been harmed."
On October 6 Ms. Pelosi will receive the 2007 National Equality Award from the homosexual activist organization Human Rights Campaign.
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