Also in attendance were 17 protesters from Soulforce, an organization dedicated to fighting anti-LGBT religious and political oppression throughout the country. The highlight of the rally came when Soulforce members, who were permitted to protest peacefully from a nearby sidewalk, began to move back to their bus. The group sang a hymn while filing into their own bus before driving away, honking.
Edric Floyd of PFLAG Macon attended both the Atlanta rally and the rally held in Macon earlier in the day. Floyd followed the bus from Macon to Atlanta.
Only one person, former Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, addressed the three or four people who gathered in Macon. “There were actually more reporters than people there,” Floyd said today. Musgrave briefly addressed the crowd in Atlanta.
The focus of the rally was abortion. All of today’s speakers stressed the importance of life and praised Santorum’s positions on the issue.
Though there was talk of “family values,” LGBT issues, like same-sex marriage, were not addressed by today’s speakers.
Speakers at today’s rally included Julianne Thompson, Georgia state coordinator for the Tea Party Patriots; Megan Hamrick, a local pro-life student; Suzanne Ward from Georgia Right to Life; Mia Reini, a local activist with 40 Days to Life of Atlanta; Kay Godwin, the co-founder of Georgia Conservatives in Action; Tim Echols, chairman of Georgia Public Service Commission; Ga. State Rep. Buzz Brockway and Joshua Edmons of Pulse Pro-Life Ministries.
Top photo: Members of Soulforce stopped in Atlanta to attend the Susan B. Anthony List’s “Rick Bus” tour featuring conservative speakers who support the presidential candidacy of former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum. (by Ryan Watkins)