Dozens Turn Out For Lakewood Protests

LAKEWOOD, NJ — Dozens of protesters packed the corners of New Hampshire and Cedar Bridge avenues Thursday night as an online debate sparked by a rabbi's fiery comments about the Lakewood BlueClaws' plans for Pride Night spilled over to real life.

Rabbi Yehuda Levin was in attendance at the protest he called for over what he decried as the "homosexualization of our community" with team's celebration of LGBTQ people in recognition of Pride Month.

He gathered with about 50 people on the northwest corner of the intersection, some of them ultra-Orthodox men, others men and women who identified themselves as Catholics who had come out to support the effort.

"I don't like how this is being rammed down our throats," said one man, a Toms River resident who said he's Catholic and views LGBT sexual orientations as unacceptable according to the Bible. "I keep what happens in my bedroom private. Why do they have to rub this in my face?"

"They keep saying we hate them," an ultra-Orthodox man said, pointing to the crowd of roughly 200 on the northeast corner of the intersection. "We don't hate them. We hate the sin."

Counterprotesters, who carried rainbow flags and banners, and signs saying "Love Trumps Hate," played music and chanted messages including "Bigots Go Home" and "Let's Go Gay!"

Some of the signs urged passing drivers to honk in support of the counterprotest, and the support was loud and continuous, at times drowning out the man using a bullhorn to project his voice to those protesting Pride Night. One group of women prayed the rosary in unison, while a group of men chanted in Yiddish.

Though it was loud, there were no incidents. Lakewood police were a very visible presence, including both uniformed officers and those in plain clothes. The crowd was for the most part peaceful.

The BlueClaws made their feelings clear on the sign outside the stadium, which read "Baseball is for Everyone" with the team's logo and a rainbow background.

Levin, the New York rabbi whose videos criticized township officials for agreeing to a new lease for the BlueClaws — going so far as to imply people were paid off — recorded another video from the scene of the protest.

"We have to stand up to this," he told a group of ultra-Orthodox men who had come to take part in the protest.

That was the sentiment of the counterprotesters as well.

"I saw the flyer on social media," said a Toms River woman who had come out to support Pride Night. "We have to stand up to this hate."

Some of the counterprotesters chose to do that by crossing the street to engage the anti-Pride Night group in conversation. Some did so quietly, such as a woman who carried a sign urging love for everyone. Others were more direct.

"I think marginalized groups should stand together," a counterprotester said to two ultra-Orthodox men. "Aren't you worried about making God angry?" one responded. "No, I'm not," the younger man said.

When one of the men expressed concern that schools are "indoctrinating" young children with information about sexual orientation, the counterprotester repeated a statement he'd made a few times previously.

"The government isn't forcing you to be gay," he said. "And if the government does start that, I will be right there beside you standing up to it."

Previous coverage:

• Rabbi Urges Protest Of BlueClaws' Pride Night In Lakewood
• Toms River Synagogue Condemns Rabbi's Call To Protest BlueClaws

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