Petition foe blasts Glenn for violent terminology
Ada commissioner
said, '... I'm going
to man a foxhole.'
By Kim Eckart
The Idaho Statesman
The state's elected officials
should condemn the "rhetoric of
violence" surrounding the campaign
for the Idaho Citizens Al-
liance's anti-gay initiative, foes
of the initiative said Thursday.
During a news conference outside
the Statehouse, Brian Bergquist,
co-chairman of "Don't
Sign On," criticized recent comments
by Ada County Commissioner
Gary Glenn.
At an Idaho Family Forum
banquet last week, Glenn said,
"As long as I have the privilege
of holding elected office, I'm going
to man a foxhole. If the
ACLU and Brian Bergquist are
listening, the last time I was
tested with an M-16, I shot 40
out of 40."
In a letter delivered Thursday,
Bergquist asked Glenn to retract
his statement and condemn
violence. A similar letter
was sent to Idaho Family Forum
Executive Director Dennis
Mansfield.
Bergquist said he did not interpret
Glenn's comments as a serious personal
threat and said he would not
seek legal action
"I wasn't looking at it as a
personal issue of Brian vs.
Gary," Bergquist said. "I am not
looking for a personal apology.
Rather, I ask that we work for
our community and use this op-
portunity to make a unified call
for an end to violence, an end to
violent language, and an end to
the encouragement of violence."
Glenn said Thursday that he
does not advocate violence and
was speaking metaphorically at the
Family Forum event.
"This is a debate on principle,
not personality," Glenn said. "I
was speaking figuratively. I de-
cry violence, and I think it's
obvious to anyone that I was
speaking metaphorically.
"However, I do believe there
are values worth fighting for,
and I still believe most Idah-
oans feel the same."
Mansfield said Glenn's com-
ments were taken out of context.
"It had nothing to do with
violence against homosexuals. It
was a military metaphor. The
people that were there would have
walked out if they'd heard
a stand based on violence,"
Mansfield said. "If I were Brian,
and I was searching for sympa-
thy among the electorate, I'd
call a press conference like this,
too."
Biran Bergquist is hugged by friend Kay Hummel after a press conference denouncing Ada County Commissioner Gary
Glenn's recent remarks about Bergquist and the ACLU. Hummel says she is worried about Berqguist's safety.
Kevin Clark/The Idaho Statesman
About 50 people attended the
"Don't Sign On" news confer-
ence, including Sen. John Pea-
vey, D-Carey, NAACP chapter
President Ken Monroe and the
Rev. Cynthia Scanlin. Before
the crowd, "Don't Sign On"
members and representatives of
the Northwest Coalition
Against Malicious Harassment
urged a halt to physical and
verbal violence against gays
and lesbians.
Glenn helped write the ICA's
initiative, which would prevent
the state from granting civil
rights protections based on sex-
ual orientation and forbid pub-
lic schools to teach that homo-
sexuality is acceptable.
"Anti-Gay Initiative Proponents:
At War with their Communities
'I'm going to man a foxhold. If
the ACLU and Brian Bergquist
are listening, the last time I
was tested with an M-16, I shot
40 out of 40.'
Gary Glenn
Ada County Commissioner
ICA Initiative Supporter"
Kevin Clark/The Idaho Statesman
Signs quoting Ada Commissioner Gary Glenn's recent comments about Brian Bergquist
and the ACLU were evident as about 50 supporters of Bergquist met Thursday.
Kelly Walton says U.S. Su-
preme Court will uphold ini-
tiative/2C
