Times Square Billboard Owners Block Christian Group Focus on the Family's Pro-Life Message
Not so many years ago, New York City’s Times Square was pretty much America’s display case for human depravity. Mayor Rudy Giuliani changed this, so now it’s basically a haven for very pushy aspiring actors in Spider-Man costumes to try to collect money from photographs.
I suppose at a basic level, this is conservatism — capitalism in action, even if it involves a bit of trademark infringement. However, if you want to display some actual conservatism, Gotham has got some news for you.
“Focus on the Family reports three companies have denied its request to buy billboard space on New York City’s Times Square,” CBN News reported earlier this week.
“The ministry has been planning the ‘Alive from New York’ event for Saturday, May 4, to show 4-D images of unborn babies in the womb.”
But apparently, that was too much for the delicate sensibilities of New Yorkers. The ad buy, made in good faith, was apparently controversial to people who had already decided their position on abortion.
“In many ways, this blockade only confirms what we’ve long known. There are many people who don’t want the world to see these images of pre-born life, because the abortion industry is predicated on a lie — namely that a baby is just a blob of tissue inside the womb,” Focus on the Family President Jim Daly wrote in a blog post.
“It’s not. It’s a baby,” he emphasized.
“In response to this flat-out discrimination, we’ve decided to bring in our own digital billboards.”
And, needless to say, the response has been tremendous:
RT if you believe she is a human.#AliveFromNewYork pic.twitter.com/WScnWnczHD
— Focus on the Family (@FocusFamily) May 3, 2019
“God bless your work for the sacred souls of the next generation. May the 4th be with you!” David E. Tonner wrote.
God bless your work for the sacred souls of the next generation. May the 4th be with you!
— David E. Tonner (@TonnerDave) May 3, 2019
“Awesome! Thank you for this life changing event for hopefully thousands of people at all stages of life,” Ed Wilbourne said.
Awesome! Thank you for this life changing event for hopefully thousands of people at all stages of life.
— Ed Wilbourne (@EGWilbourne) May 3, 2019
And that should be the message.
New York City may not be the most amenable place to hear the message of life, but that’s entirely the point. If we’re a united country, we also ought to have the ability to speak our truth anywhere in these 50 states, whether it be in Manhattan, New York City or Manhattan, Kansas.
And yet, what this suggests is that we’re not a united country. What plays as biblical truth in Missouri isn’t really true in New York, or at least shouldn’t be mentioned.
That’s not the truth, though.
And, thanks to Focus on the Family, we’re not going to see pro-family groups shirking from that responsibility, no matter how much Times Square billboard owners might want to block them.
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