Conservatives Plan Pre-Alito Hearing Rally
By KIMBERLY HEFLING, Associated Press Writer
30 minutes ago
WASHINGTON - Sen. Rick Santorum (news, bio, voting record) and Focus on the Family founder James Dobson will headline a rally Sunday for conservatives in Philadelphia one day before the start of confirmation hearings for Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito.
The Family Research Council, which is backing the event dubbed "Justice Sunday III," said on its Web site that organizers were defending religious liberty and "raising the alarm over liberal secularists' attempts to expel prayer and people of faith from the public square."
The rally at Greater Exodus Baptist Church has drawn the ire of AIDS activists, liberal-leaning groups and other religious leaders who have vowed to protest, maintaining that the sponsors back a dangerous mixing of church and state and support an agenda that leaves out minorities.
"Many of us resent being hijacked by narrow interlopers with a religious banner, just as many Christians resent their faith being hijacked by intolerance," said the Rev. Bill Levering, pastor of Summit Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, during a conference call with reporters.
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060107/ap_on_re_us/justice_sunday_1