IT IS the type of event that cities usually salivate over: more than 20,000 teenagers, all with a keen interest in pop culture, plenty of chaperones and, of course, pockets full of disposable income.
But when the group in question is a Christian ministry from Texas that condemns homosexuality and the place is San Francisco, often referred to as "the gayest city in America", the civic welcome wagon collapses pretty quickly.
This weekend sees B
attleCry, a two-day gathering at AT&T Park, a baseball stadium, which includes performances by Christian rock bands and inspirational speakers. Organisers say it is a way for young Christians to speak out against what they view as destructive cultural elements, including sex on television, obscene music and violent video games.
"This culture is really hammering this generation," said Ron Luce, founder of Teen Mania, the Texas-based ministry that sponsors and promotes BattleCry. "Whether it's being accosted with horrible sexually suggestive messages or the garbage in the video game world, corporate America is raping and pillaging American teenagers. And everyone is just walking by."
But several prominent San Francisco political leaders say Luce's group is the one doing the damage, using its young members as a conduit for a message of intolerance.
"They are being fed, spoon-fed, hate," said Tom Ammiano, a member of the city's Board of Supervisors, who is gay. "And it is incumbent on any group receiving that hate, particularly gay people, to speak out."
Aaron Peskin, the board's president, called BattleCry "reckless and irresponsible".
"We need to increase understanding of our human differences, not teach our kids to be suspicious and hateful towards people unlike them," Peskin said in a statement.
It is not the first time that BattleCry has been given the cold shoulder from San Franciscans. The group held a concert in the city last year, an event that was greeted by a resolution from the Board of Supervisors calling BattleCry a "right-wing Christian fundamentalist group" trying "to negatively influence the politics of America's most tolerant city".
Opponents have said that the rhetoric used onstage during these events is overtly anti-gay and subtly militaristic.
Ben Rosen, a San Francisco organiser with World Can't Wait, which is leading the protests, said his group was trying to repudiate what it sees as the deeper goals of BattleCry, including "imposing their biblical fundamentalist worldview on the country".
Rosen said protesters recognised that they were dealing with a delicate balance of wishing to express their opinions without appearing to be intolerant themselves.
"We're not out to yell at kids that believe in Jesus: 'That's awful,'" he said. "It would be great," he said of BattleCry, "if it didn't have this very serious, very pernicious backbone to it."
Tasha White, 18, attended the event last year and said it had opened her eyes to "a culture leading us into brokenness".
"You look at Britney Spears, and what she did and that leads to divorce and rehab and drugs, and that's a negative influence," said White, who lives in nearby San Bruno and said she had had problems with underage drinking. "And that's not something I believe our generation should be looking forward to."
White added she did not think there was anything anti-gay about the event, though she believes gay people are "misguided". Luce echoed that sentiment, saying his group loves gay people, but does firmly believe their sexuality is sinful.
"We see homosexuality like a lot of other things that do harm to us, like lying or cheating or stealing," he said.
With high-profile evangelical supporters like the Reverend Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson, BattleCry is just one part of Luce's campaign to energise young Christians. In addition to San Francisco, BattleCry events are planned this spring in Baltimore and Detroit, with dozens of smaller 'Acquire the Fire' events in other cities featuring Christian music and speakers.
Joe D'Alessandro, the president of the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau, a private nonprofit group, said the two-day event was too small to have a significant impact on the local economy, but he said its organisers should be allowed to hold BattleCry nonetheless.
"I think we have to practice tolerance, whether or not they practice tolerance," D'Alessandro said. "I'm gay myself, and I find their beliefs very offensive. But they have a right to come to our city."
A ra
dical reputation
FO
R those in the know, San Francisco was seen as the gay capital from the 1920s because of its reputation for partying.
However, it became a major focus for gays during the Second World War because it was the main place where the US military's dishonourable discharges were processed.
The American forces had an active policy to seek out and dismiss homosexuals and the vast majority of the 9,000 thrown out were dismissed in San Francisco.
During the 1960s the city attracted a new wave of more radical lesbians and gays who flocked to San Francisco, partly for its reputation as a radical, left-wing centre.
Today, the gay population of the city is estimated to be approximately 15% and remains an important force. One of the best-known of the gay population of San Francisco is stand-up comedian Scott Capurro, left, who in 1994 was awarded the Perrier Award for best newcomer at the Edinburgh Fringe.
