Mourners at the funeral of Christina-Taylor Green
were greeted by more than a thousand
sympathizers who lined North Shannon Road for
a quarter-mile south of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
Church.
Many wore white, and many had responded to
an Internet call to counter the possible appearance
of an out-of-state hate group.
They arrived on nearly 200 motorcycles, on foot
and on shuttle buses from area parking lots,
some prompted into action by the anticipated
presence of a group from Kansas that protests
funerals of veterans and gay people. The group
ended up not showing.
Many of the sympathizers who showed up wore
white and stood quietly on either side of Shannon
Road. Among them were 18 "angels" with giant
wings made from plastic pipe and bedsheets,
who stood side by side in silence less than a
block from the church for an hour and a half.
Behind them, graffiti on a subdivision's block wall
read: "Christina" and "Stop the Hate."
In the church parking lot, several firefighters and
soldiers stood between two fire-ladder trucks, to
hoist the 9/11 Flag at the church. The flag weighs
45 pounds.
The "New York Says Thank You Foundation" flew
the flag to Tucson Wednesday to honor
Christina-Taylor, 9, who was among six killed in
Saturday's shooting at a northwest-side Safeway.
She was born on Sept. 11, 2001.
The flag was flying at 90 West Street in New York
when the twin towers went down. It is the same
tattered flag seen in the iconic photo of ground
zero.
Pieces of retired flags from all 50 states have been
used to repair the flag, which is on tour this year
until the 10th anniversary of 9/11.
The flag was to be flown to Atlanta Thursday, so
it will not be in Tucson today for the funeral of
U.S. District Judge John M. Roll, at the same
northwest-side church.
On Thursday, families holding hands, cowboy
types in boots and hats, bikers in Hells Angels
and Huns jackets, teens, seniors and others were
there - most for the same reason: to support the
Green family.
"She was such a shining little star," Tucsonan
Jean Semington said of Christina-Taylor. "It's
tragic. . . . I've lost a son. I know a little of the
pain."
Ten-year-old Lindsey Lummus wore white angel
wings and a halo as she stood beside the street
with her family.
"I came to support them," said Lindsey, a fifth-
grader at Quail Run Elementary School.
Jeanne Davis traveled from Scottsdale and carried
a large sign reading: "Our thoughts & prayers are
with the Green family."
"This was such a big negative experience for
Arizona," Davis said. "We've got to stand
together now."
Casey Trapp and Katie Maine held white roses
they said were distributed by an "unknown
gentleman."
"We wanted to be here," Maine said. "There's
power in these numbers."
Dennis Bennett journeyed from Phoenix with 55
fellow members of the Phoenix Motorcycle Riders
Group.
"We just want to show our support," Bennett
said. "And if dummies show up, we want to
stand in front of them."
Angel Project organizer Wayne Belger said the
Angels are trained to resist provocation by the
hate group. Some are veterans of non-violent
protest, and all were trained for this deployment
in a role-playing session Wednesday night. The
Angels surround the hate group with their wings
so that funeral-goers do not have to see the signs
being carried - usually stating that the deaths are
God's punishment for homosexuality.
One of the angels, Ralph Alter, said: "I had to do
something, and this seemed like a good way to
take positive action."
Alter, who said he has a transgender son and
many gay friends, said it was also "something I
can do for them, too."
Another Angel organizer, Christin Gilmer, was
dressed in white but did not don angel wings.
The group discourages people with personal
connections to a funeral from doing so, she said.
"I knew Gabe (Zimmerman, a victim). We were
very involved in similar causes."
Gilmer also worked on Rep. Gabrielle Giffords'
campaigns and knew shooting victim Dorwan
Stoddard through volunteer activities. "He was
very sweet," she said.
After the funeral began, the 18 angels turned and
walked north, wings outstretched, along a dirt
path next to the road.
They were headed to a nearby home where a
resident told them they could store their wings
until today's funeral at the same church for Judge
Roll.
Source: Http://azstarnet.com/news/local/article_f6572541-3612-5abf-9bf5-8535641529be.html
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