Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) joined presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Tim Pawlenty by being the third openly anti-gay Republican to be “glittered” by activists protesting anti-gay rhetoric. Saturday, after delivering a speech at the RightOnline conference in Minneapolis, Bachmann was “glittered” by activists yelling, “You can run, but you cannot hide! Keep your hate out of our Constitution!”
The  reference was to the “You Can Run But You Cannot Hide” ministry for which Rep. Bachmann has helped raise money, and to a proposed Minnesota constitutional referendum banning same-sex marriage. Bachmann made a name for herself in 2004 as then-State Senator Bachmann, by advocating for a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage.
“If you’re involved in the gay and lesbian lifestyle, it’s bondage. It is personal bondage, personal despair and personal enslavement,” Bachmann said in 2004. At the time Bachmann also, falsely stated, “And what a bizarre time we’re in … when a judge will say to little children that you can’t say the pledge of allegiance, but you must learn that homosexuality is normal and you should try it.â€
The You Can Run But You Cannot Hide ministry, founded by extremely anti-gay Bradley Dean, charges thousands of dollars to speak at public school assemblies and evangelize young people based on a shocking and offensive anti-gay program — often without the knowledge of school administrators, whom Dean’s ministry reportedly has duped with promotional materials not fully-representative of the program.
Pawlenty was “glittered” on Thursday, and Gingrich received the inaugural glittering last month. Referring to the glitterings, now-two-time-former GOP presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee Friday said, “The people ought to be arrested who did that. That’s an assault,” adding, “You’ve got to draw the line.â€
LISTEN: Michele Bachmann – “We Are In The Last Days” (Audio)
“My response to Michele Bachmann’s hateful and anti-gay rhetoric was light-hearted, but these issues are very serious,” said Minnesota resident Rachel E. B. Lang, today’s “glitterer,†via a press release. “Bachmann’s support of groups like You Can Run But You Cannot Hide show exactly how extremist she is — she in no way represents the values of Minnesota and certainly does not represent the values of America.”
A spokesperson for GetEQUAL, whose “mission is to empower the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community and our allies to take bold action to demand full legal and social equality, and to hold accountable those who stand in the way,” said in an email to The New Civil Rights Movement that they “supported” the activists who glittered Bachmann.
Interviewed outside the event after the glitter action, Lang said she would glitter President Obama also if he were there, for his current stance on marriage equality. Obama has said he “wrestles” with same-sex marriage but that his position is “evolving.” Friday, in response to the historic UN resolution that seeks to apply human rights protections based on sexual orientation and gender identity, Obama stated, “that LGBT persons are endowed with the same inalienable rights — and entitled to the same protections — as all human beings.”
The press release also states, “Lang is straight and a lawyer in Minneapolis, and has several gay family members, including her mother and her 75-year-old uncle who recently married his 75-year-old same-sex partner in Iowa.
“As long as Michele Bachmann and other out-of-touch politicians are attacking my family and limiting my freedom, there will be more and more glitterings across the country,” said Lang. “Today I welcomed Bachmann into the Glitter Hall of Fame and, until these politicians stop their anti-gay attacks on families like mine, people will continue to stand up for equality and the freedom to love whoever they want.”