A permit was granted late Monday afternoon for the neo-Nazi group Aryan Nations to hold a rally at the Gettysburg National Military Park, according to park spokeswoman Katie Lawhon.
Aryan Nations - which identifies itself as a white-supremacist organization and has been called a "continuing terrorist threat" by the FBI - will hold the rally on June 19 from 1 to 3 p.m. on the park's lawn west of the Cyclorama Center, according to the group's website.
"Because the land is publicly owned, we're obligated to make it publicly available for exercising First Amendment rights," Lawhon said last week when the permit request was received.
And Col. Gordon Young, who heads the Maryland chapter of Aryan Nations, said he never doubted the permit would be granted.
"I told them if you don't approve me then we'll be in court and that's a fight they don't want to have," he said.
The rally will include speeches from Aryan Nations members and discussions on current events and political issues, according to Young.
"We're going to talk about immigration and how these Mexicans are pouring over our borders and taking our jobs and putting white Americans out of work. We blame them for our downfall of the economy," he said. "And we'll talk about how homosexuality is wrong and 9/11 was an insiders deal. Today's world is so screwed up and we're just trying to teach our children the right ways of life."
In 2006, the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan had a similar rally, and park officials have said the event proceeded without complications.
"In general, the event went smoothly in 2006 and there was a lot of coordination and we had a lot of excellent assistance from other law enforcement agencies," Lawhon said.
Young, who attended the 2006 rally, agreed and cited only minimal disturbances.
"It went great and the law enforcement did a really good job. One guy ran towards us with a rainbow flag, which stands for homosexuals, but the cops grabbed him," he said. "Some of the black and Hispanic officers tried to entice our guys to say things but I told them to shut up and we're not going to stoop that low."
In response, the YWCA plans to hold a "celebration of diversity" event to draw visitors away the rally.
"There are some people who feel it's better to ignore (Aryan Nations), but people around here aren't going to tolerate this," YWCA Missions Director Ashley Andyshak Hayes said last week. "It's important for us to speak out and send a positive."
Evening Sun
