No Homo Mayor — Protest, August 2, 2010, City Hall
On August 2, 2010, Dove World Outreach Center held a peaceful protest outside Gainesville City Hall to call on Mayor Craig Lowe to resign.
Mayor Lowe, who is openly homosexual, was elected in a close run-off election in April 2010. Dove World, which had previously posted a sign reading "No Homo Mayor" outside the church, organized the protest as a public expression of its Biblical convictions about marriage and sexuality.
Members of the congregation and supporters gathered peacefully at City Hall to exercise their First Amendment rights to free speech and peaceful assembly. Dr. Terry Jones addressed those gathered, calling on Mayor Lowe to step down and calling on the citizens of Gainesville to stand for Biblical values in the public square.
"We are not here with hatred," Dr. Jones told supporters. "We are here with a message. The Word of God is clear. We have the right — and the responsibility — to speak that message in the public square."
The protest was peaceful and concluded without incident. Dove World Outreach Center remains committed to non-violent, lawful expression of its Biblical convictions.