Ku Klux Klan

KEEDYSVILLE andrews@herald-mail.com A community movement to overshadow hate with tolerance was launched Wednesday, six weeks before the Ku Klux Klan is scheduled to march in Sharpsburg. About 50 people gathered at Salem United Methodist Church of Keedysville to talk about events and attitudes that can counter the Klan's public demonstration on Aug. 28. The Rev. Malcolm Stranathan of Salem United stressed that the community should not confront the Klan head-on.

I would like to begin today's sermon with a shout out to Sharpsburg Town Attorney Charles Wagaman, who had these words of wisdom this week for those planning to attend an upcoming Klan rally in August: Do not bring your gun. According to The Herald-Mail on Tuesday, "People have asked (Wagaman) if firearms can be carried unconcealed at the Aug. 28 rally ... The answer is no, Wagaman said. It doesn't matter if the firearm is concealed or not, the answer is the same. " That's just one of those good, common-sense rules to live by that we should all be teaching our children at a young age: Do not run with scissors; do not take your dog to a funeral; and do not bring your gun to a Klan rally.

Klan destined for obscurity To the editor: I was appalled to see the letter from Keedysville on July 4, in which the writer said the Ku Klux Klan has some good points when it comes to gay people. This comes on the heels of reports that the Klan is planning an August rally in Sharpsburg. An official from the State Highway Administration, which issues permits for activities on our public roads, told me on July 7 that the Klan no longer plans to march, but that they may hold some other event in our community.

andrews@herald-mail.com SHARPSBURG - When the Ku Klux Klan marches and rallies in Sharpsburg on Aug. 28, a nearby church hopes to hold a separate community event. The Rev. Malcolm Stranathan of Salem United Methodist Church in Keedysville said the event - away from the rally - wouldn't be a counterprotest, but a declaration that the community doesn't share the Klan's views. "It is just to lift up the solidarity of the community," he said. A meeting to plan the community event will be held at the church Wednesday at 7 p.m. The greater South Mountain community and all Washington County houses of worship are invited, Stranathan said.

julieg@herald-mail.com SHARPSBURG - A World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan rally that was expected to be held Saturday in front of Town Hall will be held later this summer because the organizer needs to get permits, the Imperial Wizard said Monday. Word has been spreading in town about the rally that was to take place in front of the library in Town Hall. The rally was not discussed during Monday night's mayor and Town Council meeting, but after the meeting Imperial Wizard Gordon Young discussed the permit situation with Town Attorney and Zoning Administrator Charles Wagaman.

tarar@herald-mail.com HAGERSTOWN - Hagerstown resident AnnaMarie McDonagh was visiting relatives on Oak Hill Avenue on Easter Sunday when a rolled-up flier arrived on the front porch around dinnertime. McDonagh said she and her family were "alarmed" over its contents: A group calling itself the World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, with headquarters in Sharpsburg, was looking for members. "To me, that is an invasion of privacy," McDonagh said Monday. "For it to be handed out in a family-oriented neighborhood is alarming to me. " McDonagh, who has worked as a trauma technician at Washington County Hospital, said seeing the flier was more startling than anything she has seen on the job. "With being trained and being around alarming things, this would bother me the most because it teaches hate," she said.

I once had a chat with a spokesman for a former U.S. president, who said he had three basic response lines he used when expanding upon the president's frequently convoluted speeches: 1. "What the president meant to say was ... " 2. "What the president was trying to say was ... " 3. "What the president really said was ... " So it is with Hagerstown Mayor Bill Breichner, who last week compared the Miss Gay American National Pageant...

ANNAPOLIS - Human rights groups testified Tuesday against legislation targeting the Ku Klux Klan. The bill would make it a crime to wear a hood or mask during a public demonstration. The bill proposes five exceptions to the crime so innocent groups such as trick-or-treaters aren't prevented from gathering. But representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Maryland Jewish Alliance said that while they applaud efforts to shut down the Klan, it's not worth infringing on the right to free speech.

FREDERICK, Md. - By introducing legislation to target hate groups, Del. Sue Hecht said she wants to dispel the perception that Western Maryland is a hotbed for the Ku Klux Klan. cont. from front page Hecht, D-Frederick/Washington, said Monday she will file a bill to make it a crime to wear a mask or hood during a public demonstration. "Let's unmask the Ku Klux Klan and bigotry. If hate groups want protection under our laws of freedom, let us be free to see their faces.

The World Knights of the Ku Klux Klan has received permission to rally at Antietam National Battlefield in June, park superintendent John Howard said Tuesday. Read the full story in Wednesday's Herald-Mail newspapers.