LGBT activists arrested at Christian university

Five LGBT activists on a cross-country Soulforce Equality Ride were arrested on April 17 in the Denver area at the Colorado Christian University.

The Equality Ride activists were trying to talk with students in a campus Bible study program when they were taken into custody. They face misdemeanor charges of trespassing.

The Equality Ride is a social-justice bus tour that involves young LGBT activists traveling to evangelical universities and colleges to talk discrimination and religion.

Colorado was the eighth stop on the tour, which began in Philadelphia.

Rider 

Ryan Barnette said that the group had hoped to be invited onto the CCU campus for a discussion.

“We are making this direct action today because we’ve been contacted by students at Colorado Christian University who have informed us of the need for conversation about the discrimination toward the LGBTQ and allied people on campus,” Barnette said.

But CCU representatives refused to meet with the activists, who instead said a direct-action demonstration on campus.

The activists were detained at the Lakewood Police station.

Meanwhile, supporters of the Equality Ride gathered for a potluck supper and discussion on April 17 at House for All Sinners and Saints.

The riders were planning to continue their journey through Colorado, then onto Utah and a Salt Lake City.

Their final destination is San Francisco.

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