Crowd Wants Amend Out Supporter Of Coroner Escorted Out Of Rally
Leaders from Spokane’s medical, religious and human rights communities gathered on the lawn in front of the Spokane County Court House Thursday night to demand County Coroner Dexter Amend step down.
Organizers also collected signatures to form a committee for Amend’s recall.
The rally came a week after Amend made controversial comments about homosexuality. In interviews with KXLY-TV and The Spokesman-Review, the coroner condemned homosexuals when disclosing autopsy reports showing that a 9-year-old girl, who was found beaten to death on June 15, was sodomized for years leading up to her murder.
Signs with messages ranging from, “Fight homophobia and child abuse” to “We need a coroner, not a gaybasher” speckled the crowd of about 150 people.
Joe Tomlinson, coordinator of Spokane AIDS Network Outreach, came equipped with his three r’s - retract, repent and resign - as a resolution for the problem he accused Amend of creating.
“Failing to retract, repent and resign, he will be recalled,” Tomlinson said to a loud chorus of cheers, whistles and applause.
Rev. Robert Stevenson of the United Methodist Church said Amend “has trivialized a brutal murder and vilified an innocent group of people.”
Spokane resident Barbara Lampert, who helped organize the rally, said organizers accomplished their goal of gathering names to form a committee to recall Amend. She said a committee must be formed and registered with the state before the recall process can begin. Several pages of sign-up sheets were partially filled.
“This was the first step,” Lampert said. “The next step is to have a meeting to form a committee so we can get state registration.”
Halfway through the 30-minute rally, an Amend supporter with a banner made his way through the crowd as Janet Stevenson, the chairwoman for the Spokane Human Rights Commission, took her turn behind the podium.
Shouts of “Cover it up! Cover it up!” rang out as protesters scurried to hold anti-Amend signs in front David Elton’s laminated banner. The banner featured an article that appeared on August 11 in The Spokesman-Review. Elton had crossed out the word “Resign” in the headline which read “Panel Wants Coroner to Resign.” The words “Amend’s right” where written in black marker over the article.
The rally was delayed briefly while police escorted Elton, who was also clad in a T-shirt emblazoned with the same article, from the crowd. He was left holding a piece of his ripped sign in each hand.
“Hitler did not come to power overnight,” said Eric Ward, associate director of the Northwest Coalition Against Malicious Harassment. “It was a slow, numbing process. We are here tonight to say we will not be numbed.”
The coroner said during an interview last week he believes only homosexuals engage in sodomy and “all they think about is sex and lust all the time. They had an innocent victim in (Rachel Carver) and they took advantage of her.”
Caver’s uncle, 23-year-old Jason Wickenhagen, was charged with first-degree murder.
, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo
MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Pro-Amend A rally in support of Dexter Amend is scheduled for Sunday at 2 p.m. in front of the Spokane County Court House. Amend supporter Michelle Lowell organized the Sunday rally, where she’ll collect signatures on a petition in hopes of showing there are more people who support Amend than oppose him. “Homosexuality is a threat to our children and our community, especially sodomy,” Lowell said. “I really admire and respect him. He is courageous to speak out.”