SACRAMENTO—Two groups, alike in size and passion, took to the streets of Land Park Tuesday night, occupying opposite sides of Marty Way and fighting for two opposing viewpoints. The heavy rain they experienced could not slick their thirsty souls, nor could the cold evening run them home. With both sides dug in, the groups looked more as soldiers entrenched for warfare than average citizens expressing their First Amendment Right.

It was the very right of Free Speech that brought the crowds of hundreds to the quiet Sacramento Neighborhood Tuesday in the first place. Since last Friday, political groups and private citizens have argued over the tastefulness of an effigy raised in front of a house situated along the west side of Marty Way.

Homeowners Steve and Virginia Pearcy placed a stuffed figure dressed in desert camouflage above their front window outside their home. The effigy, which hung above Iraqi and Palestinian flags, held a poster with the words, “Bush Lied, I Died.” The effigy remained above the house until someone trespassed on the Pearcy’s property and removed the figure. A second effigy was also stolen from the property.

“For those who ever decide to post a similar message, we want you to know we will support your right to free speech with as much vigor and enthusiasm as all the people who supported us here tonight,” Steve Pearcy said, surrounded by hundreds of supporters and dozens of television news cameras. “We just wanted to let everyone here know, that whenever we put up a message in front of our house, the intent is to leave it up until that message has reached a sufficient number of people. At this time we don’t feel a need to replace our soldier display, but we’ll never be deterred.”

Pro-War and Pro-Troop organizations called the Pearcy’s effigy “disgusting,” saying that it dishonored the troops. The demonstration brought out the pundit in all, with everyone from private citizens and politicians to radio hosts and high school students determined to weigh in on the matter. Some, like radio host Mark Williams, thought the effigy qualified as a hate crime, and asked city officials to investigate. Others thought the demonstration was an appropriate use of First Amendment rights, and argued that the effigy said a lot about people’s feelings over the war in Iraq.

The conflicts of viewpoints drew citizens to the streets after Move America Forward, a conservative group founded to support Republican President George W. Bush, announced it was holding a protest. Anti-war groups and Free Speech activists lined themselves before the Pearcy’s home, attempting to deflect the protestors’s calls while shouting some of their own.

Soaked and covered with mud, the protestors remained outside for hours. Both sides sang patriotic songs, both sides claimed they supported the troops, and both sides took turns chanting, “Shame on you.” Dividing the two, however, was more than a bevy of Sacramento police officers. Standing but a few feet from one another the two groups were an oceans apart in what each thought accounted for an appropriate use of Free Speech.

Melanie Morgan, co-chairman of Move America Forward, rallied her wet troops, telling them that while the Pearcy’s have a right to hang their display, they have a right to protest it.

“I want to thank you all for your effort to show the entire Bay Area, Sacramento, California and the rest of the country, but most importantly to our men and women who have emailed today from Iraq and Afghanistan saying they are horrified by the effigy they have seen on the television news,” Morgan said. “We don’t want them thinking for a moment that this is how our country feels about them.”

Across the street, Dan Buckley, a Colfax resident who served three years in the Vietnam War and is a member of Veterans for Peace, said he and his fellow anti-war protestors do support the troops and want them home.

“We don’t want the people in the world to know that these are the only types of people [across the street] that can get together and protest. We are here for Freedom of Speech and we are also here to protest the war,” Buckley said. “That was the message on these people’s house and I support it and I support how they portrayed it.”

Regina Aponte, a Lake County resident who drove to Land Park after discovering news of the protest through the Internet, disagrees with Buckley’s approval of the effigy. Aponte’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Gabriel Aponte, just returned from Iraq Feb.6. Worried about troop moral, Aponte said her son reacted strongly to the effigy.

“He said that he supports the right to Free Speech,” Aponte recalled. “But he was also hoping that the fallout of this would not demoralize the troops back in Iraq.”

“As a matter of truth, he was disgusted by the blatant act of disrespect the Pearcys have shown toward a country they call home,” she continued. 
“The Pearcys have crossed a line and offended the hearts of Americans.  What the Pearcys have done is a slap in the face to those who have given their lives for the voice of the very freedoms the Pearcys say they are acting upon.”

Ashley Piper, a family friend of the Pearcys, said the display was not to demoralize the troops, but to encourage talk about the reasons the United States went to war.

“I’m sorry these people [across the street] have the wrong idea. [The effigy] isn’t anti-troop or anti-American; it’s about bringing out the truth. It was meant to bring discussion and I’m just sorry people have to take it the wrong way,” Piper said. “It’s your First Amendment right and I’m sorry that people feel the need to try and oppress it. When you oppress Free Speech, you take away their rights, their freedoms, and their individuality. That’s what I think they are trying to do here.”

The protest lasted through the late hours of the night, with many people leaving only after the Pearcys made a statement to the press about the controversial and ensuing protests. Steve Pearcy said he would be pleased to discuss the effigy and his views concerning the Iraqi War with any of the protestors.

Although the Pearcys re-entered their home stiff-lipped, a neighbor said the couple is worried about their safety and possible vandalism to their property.

Visiting family on the street, Leonard Padilla, bail bondsman and Independent Congressional candidate for District 5, said the night of contentious protesting was uniquely American.

“It is a situation that we are probably the only country in the world that can do this,” he said.

Union Editor Darby Patterson contributed to this story.

Melanie Morgan, co-chairman of Move America Forward, rallied her wet troops.

A volunteer with Veterans for Peace shows his colors.

Effigy protestors hold a candle light vigil.

Supports of Free Speech and no war in Iraq take their message passionately to the street of Land Park.

A protestor shows his shirt, detailing the red states that voted Republican in the 2004 election.

(Photos by Ryan Rose/The Union)