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Indianapolis, February 8, 2005-- Organizers of a counter rally against Eric Miller and Advance America scheduled for March 8 say that the Indiana State House tried to block their attempt to assemble on State House grounds the same day Miller's group will rally.

Registering under Main1Media, Miller and his organization were seemingly able to fly beneath the proverbial radar regarding the nature of their assembly. When it was pointed out to a State House event planning employee that Main1Media represented Eric Miller, Advance America and an anti-gay agenda, the State House began making phone calls to find out why there might be controversy surrounding Main1Media and its rally - expected to bring 1,000 Miller followers to the State House rotunda.

"Originally, the State House was fine with our group assembling on the grounds until they realized the controversy surrounding Miller and his organization," said Pepper Partin, organizer of the counter rally. "When we pointed out that Miller's group was holding an anti-gay rally in support of blocking same sex marriages and civil unions via Senate Joint Resolution 7 (SJR7), the State House began to sing a different tune about our counter rally."

That is when Partin decided to involve the ICLU (Indiana Civil Liberties Union). "They worked with the State House in order to ensure that our constitutional right to assemble on public property was not violated," she said. "And after waiting for a week to obtain an official answer, we received word today that the State House is essentially no longer attempting to block us from assembling the same day."

The counter rally at the State House, scheduled for March 8, is a grassroots effort to bring awareness to the citizens of Indiana that supporters of SJR7 such as Eric Miller, Advance America and likeminded organizations represent extremist agendas wrapped in conservative communiqués. "If you visit the Advance America website you will see a very subtle approach to hate and intolerance," Partin said. "It is the best way for Miller and his organization to reach your average person who is ignorant about sexual orientation. These followers do not see themselves as people who possess extreme viewpoints when it comes to hate and intolerance. If Miller were to package his ideals the way the KKK packages its ideals, he would indeed draw more controversy and attract fewer people who would be willing to come out and rally at the State House with him. He knows this."

According to Partin, the peaceful counter rally, expected to draw more than 500 people, some of whom represent churches, businesses and organizations, will be the first step in educating the citizens of Indiana that SJR7 is nothing more than a hate debate that echoes ideals from other mass persecutions - such as the Holocaust.

In fighting SJR 7, the grassroots group is not only attempting to block an amendment barring marriage. In addition to defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman, SJR7 will also prohibit public universities from offering domestic partner benefits and keep unmarried persons from jointly adopting and fostering children. It will also keep unmarried elderly couples from the ability to care for one another.

"We are being persecuted because of our sexual orientation," Partin said, "and sexual orientation is no more of a choice than our height or our eye color or anything else that is part of our pre-determined make-up. So we must make sure people understand that we are not a subculture and this is not a lifestyle, and that is a big reason we must stop people like Eric Miller and his organization from making people think we are nature's mistakes deserving of only table scraps beneath the table of equality. Our constitution is for everyone - not just for those who feel they are superior in some sense."

Partin hopes there is time to make sure everyone in the state understands what sexual orientation means. "If SJR7 passes in the General Assembly and gets out to voters in 2008, we hope that we can, between now and then, teach the citizens of this state about sexual orientation so they will collectively be intelligent enough to see the proposed amendment for what it is: ignorance, blatant discrimination and hate tied up with a bow."

The counter rally against Eric Miller, Advance America and “SJR7 - The Hate Debate” will be held on March 8th on the East steps of the State House from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

For more information about Eric Miller and Advance America, visit www.advanceamerica.com