'Equality Ride' activists face resistance

A cross-country bus trip designed to challenge colleges with anti-gay policies has resulted in numerous arrests and even the spray-painting of "Fags-Mobile" across the bus at one stop.

Equality Ride is a 34-person contingent of gay and religious student activists who want to meet with students and administrators on campuses they say discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. To date, members have been arrested at three of five institutions visited during the pilgrimage.

The nearly two-month campaign was organized by Soulforce, a gay rights and religious advocacy group. It began March 10 at Rev. Jerry Falwell’s Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., and will end April 26 at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y. In all, the 51-day bus trip will travel through 11 states and visit 20 schools.

The bus, which bears the slogan, "Learn from history. End religious based discrimination," was defaced March 16 during the third stop of the trip, at Lee University in Cleveland, Tenn. Someone spray-painted "Fags-Mobile" on the bus in pink while it was parked in a hotel lot.

"The attack on the bus is hate speech, plain and simple," said Equality Ride co-director Jacob Reitan.

‘Equality Ride’ activists face resistance @ Southern Voice