Good morning.
Thank you Jane for that introduction!
Thank you all for coming! This is a great morning
for life!
Who is excited?
As Jane said, I am the Founder and President of
Florida Preborn Rescue, a pro-life, non-profit, organization based here in St
Petersburg. My organization and team offer Christ-centered help and hope to
women in crisis pregnancies on site at local abortion clinics.
I see a lot of you out there today.
Raise your
hand if you’ve been out to the clinic with us!
Alright! Excellent.
In 2012,
I founded Florida Preborn Rescue to be a Christ centered, pro-life,
compassionate sidewalk counseling ministry. Too many clinics sit in secret,
without a God-honoring witness, and so Florida Preborn Rescue was born in
response.
Last
year, we offered help to 250 women and men involved in crisis pregnancies. 35
women received our help about abortion alternatives and the gospel of Jesus
Christ. And we had three documented saves!
That we know of. Probably more that
we didn’t see, because as you know, just your prayerful presence at an abortion
facility makes an impact. Sometimes all a woman needs is a sign that they are
not alone, that help is available, and that God is near to those who draw near
to him in repentance.
Yes, amen! Praise the LORD.
Before we get started I’d like to recognize a few
people in the crowd today and thank them personally.
First, my wife Rebecca is here. We just
celebrated our second anniversary. She is an amazing woman and I am so glad she
is my wife. Give her a round of applause for putting up with me.
Second, I’d like to thank Jane Lupia for helping
organize this rally. It would not have gotten done without her skills and
leadership, so thank you Jane! Let’s give her a round of applause.
What a blessing.
So,
why are we here this morning?
As
you are aware, for two consecutive years, in 2014 and 2015, Mayor Kriseman
raised the Gay Pride flag right here at City Hall during the month of
June. Before raising the flag, Mayor
Kriseman stated this action demonstrated his commitment to equality for all the
citizens of St Petersburg. He said
“We are a city
of diversity, of inclusion and a city of tolerance. Everyone is welcome to
live, work and play.”
Three months after this, I wrote to the Mayor, applauded
his commitment to diversity, and asked that he raise the “Pro-Life” flag over
City Hall beginning on September 24, to coincide with St
Petersburg’s 40 Days for Life Campaign. How many of you have been involved with
40 Days for Life?
I love 40 Days for Life, it’s an awesome event.
What a blessing to join hundreds of other cities across the country and around
the world in peaceful vigil to end abortion. Our 9th campaign will
begin this fall.
So, let’s get back to the Mayor.
We have sent letters, made phone calls, and sent
emails.
We sent in petitions totaling 315 registered
voters asking the Mayor to raise the pro-life flag.
And last summer, 30 pro-life citizens came to
several city council meetings to ask the Mayor to raise the pro-life flag.
Sadly, we got no response.
Our Mayor often says
“We are a city
of diversity, of inclusion and a city of tolerance. Everyone is welcome to
live, work and play.”
However, I did receive a phone call from the
Mayor’s Chief of Staff, Mr. Kevin King, 14 months after our first overtures to
the Mayor. We sat down and met here in his office. Now, I want you to listen
closely. I am not making this up.
Even after all the emails, letters, phone calls,
and presentations, Mr. King told me that
he and the Mayor “didn’t know if this was s serious request.”
Can you believe that?
Not aware? Really?
Mr. King went on to say that he and the Mayor were
not aware of a vibrant pro-life community in St Petersburg.
Apparently, they had not heard of 40 Days for
Life.
Apparently, they had not heard of the Diocese of
St Petersburg and all their wonderful pro-life activities.
Apparently, they had not heard of the Pregnancy
Centers of Pinellas County, which are some of the largest network of pregnancy centers
in the United States.
Apparently, they had not heard of the Next Stepp
Pregnancy Center and all the great work that Carole Alexander does on the South
Side.
Apparently, they had not heard of Walk for Life,
even though every Mother’s Day weekend, over a hundred churches and hundreds
of Christians celebrate life at North
Shore Park, just down the road.
If he doesn’t think there is a vibrant pro-life community
here.
He needs to get out more.
But you all look pretty vibrant to me!
Diversity involves a willingness to allow for
opinions that you may not share yourself. Whatever your personal views on
current social issues, diversity requires that all views are respected.
Otherwise, it is not diversity.
There is no such thing as tolerating one opinion.
Whether or not the Mayor is pro-life, is not
really the issue. The issue that a great number of citizens in St Petersburg
ARE.
It turns out the Mayor is a huge supporter of
Planned Parenthood. It’s not difficult for us to understand then, where he is
coming from.
In
my meeting with Mr. King, he reiterated to me that the Mayor is pro-choice. But
that doesn’t end the discussion. Being pro-abortion is ONE position. If you are
going to constantly lecture us about diversity, inclusion and tolerance then
you should entertain other points of view as well.
If
he continues to ignore and exclude other groups, this is not inclusive.
If
he continues to ignore and exclude other groups, this is not diversity.
If
he continues to promote only one agenda, this is not inclusion.
If
he continues and if he fails to take citizen requests seriously, he is not
being tolerant.
Is
everyone really welcome in St Petersburg, Mayor Kriseman?
Really?
This
summer the SCOTUS made it illegal to discriminate against anyone based on their
sexual orientation, by legalizing
“marriage” between two men or two women.
This
is now the law of the land.
But our Mayor’s support of the LGBTQ agenda is
clear as the blue sky above us this morning. He has hired two LGBT liasons on
the City payroll. He has helped created a welcome center on Central Ave for
LGBTQ couples. He has been the Grand Marshal of the Gay Pride parade, one of
the largest Gay Pride parades in the country. The month of June is filled with
festivals and parades and celebrations of the LGBTQ lifestyle. And three out of
8 City Council members are openly homosexual.
Dare I say, this is probably the most gay
friendly city in the United States.
So, now it’s time for the Mayor to be tolerant,
diverse, and inclusive of other groups.
Do we really need lectures about diversity from
this Mayor? Shouldn’t he focus on the least represented and the most ignored
group in our City?
Gays,
lesbians, transgenders, and questioning folks have more opportunity and more
tolerance here than anywhere else. These people are not victims.
However,
even here in our fair city, there are victims.
And
this is why we are here.
The
preborn are the greatest victims of prejudice and discrimination in our city.
For our City will not even recognize that they exist. And that they have a
right to exist.
Life
is fundamental!
Life
is beautiful!
Life
is a gift!
So,
in celebrating life, and in the name of diversity, inclusion and tolerance, let’s
raise the PRO LIFE FLAG, Mayor Kriseman.
Another
favorite phrase is of the Mayor all are welcome to “live, work and play in St
Petersburg.”
So
let me ask him some more question.
How
can you work without life?
How
can you play without life?
How
can you recycle without life?
How
can you pay taxes without life??
How
can you live if you’re not alive?
Life.
You can’t live without it.
Life.
You can’t live without it.
When
the Founding Fathers built this nation, in constructing their founding
documents, they were making a promise to America that was unprecedented in
human history. They were promising to Americans to future generations the
blessings of liberty. The blessings of the pursuit of happiness. And first and
foremost, the blessings of life.
At
times in our history this promise has been kept, and at times in our history this
promise has been broken.
It
was kept when slaves were freed, and blacks received the right to vote.
It
was broken on January 22, 1973, when the Supreme Court decreed that the most
vulnerable among us, the preborn, no longer had the fundamental right to life.
Therefore,
we are here today on behalf of the preborn in our city.
We
are here today on behalf of abortion vulnerable women in our city.
MLK
said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere,
And
if I may borrow the words and phrasing of Dr King, it is true, I also have a
dream.
It
is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
It
is a dream that one day, abortion will be unthinkable and illegal in our land.
Illegal and unimaginable. Just like slavery is now illegal and unthinkable
based on the color of a person’s skin, one day abortion will be too.
It
was not that long ago people that slaves were sold on the streets of
Jacksonville, Tallahassee and Pensacola.
We
look on those times as unthinkable don’t we?
And
we should.
Why?
The
Declaration of Independence tell us that “We hold these truths to be self-evident
that all men are created equal, and are endowed by their creator with certain inalienable
rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Why
are they created equal? Because all of us, male and female, white and black,
rich and poor, have been created by God. We are all God’s children. Children
who are designed by God with a purpose. Children who one day will be protected
by love and by law. Children are made in the image of God, with an eternal
soul. No one has the right to take this away.
Our
equality is based on our createdness. And if we are creatures, then there must be a
Creator.
But
sadly, here in St Petersburg, a city that constantly touts its tolerance,
diversity, and inclusion, the grossest inequality still exists. Here in St
Petersburg, the words of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
still do not ring true for all our citizens.
But
despite this, I still have a dream.
I
have a dream that one day, this City, the City of St Petersburg FL will be abortion
free.
Now is the time, Mayor Kriseman, now is the time.
To raise this FLAG!
It is time to be consistent Mr. Mayor.
Will you stand with us, and with the thousands of
pro-lifers in our community?
Or will you continue to ignore, exclude and discriminate
against us?
A great first step, Mayor Kriseman is to RAISE
THE PRO LIFE FLAG.
Another step, Mayor
Kriseman, is to end your association with Planned Parenthood. This organization
hurts women, kills children, and profited off the sale of baby body parts, and
St Petersburg deserves better.
Our destiny as a
nation, and yes as a city is tied up in the destiny of the preborn.
But right now, the preborn
babies of St Petersburg, of whom 3000 were lost to abortion last year, have no
voice.
No parade in June.
No festival.
No flag raised in
their honor. Although we know that will change!
No pro-life weekend.
No one recognizes or
remembers them OR their mother and these women offer suffer with guilt,
silence, and regret.
The City of St Petersburg
which offers everyone else everything, offers them nothing.
Instead of
diversity, we are told which opinion to believe.
Instead of
inclusion, we are excluded.
Instead of
tolerance, we are not tolerated.
But it’s not too
late? Do you think it’s too late?
Everyone here has
received some information about how to contact Mayor Kriseman. I urge all of
you to make a point to contact him, call him every week, twice a week, email him,
follow him on Facebook and Twitter, tell him that you want the PRO LIFE flag raised. Do so graciously and
respectfully!
Tell him to be
consistent and tell him that St Petersburg is a great city, a great city, but
we will only be great if we live up to the fullness of our belief in diversity,
inclusion, and tolerance.
Mr. Kriseman, do the
right thing. Raise the PRO LIFE FLAG!
Thank you all for
coming!
Thank you!
God Bless You!