Small number of protesters to send a message at Obama's inauguration

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On Inauguration Day, the Rev. Pat Mahoney wants to teach the new president a lesson about the beginning of human life.
"In a forum, he said he didn't know where life began," Mahoney said of Barack Obama, who will be sworn in Tuesday.
So Mahoney is organizing a demonstration along the inauguration parade route, which will include 25 signs depicting a fetus' growth from conception to birth.
"We're looking at it as a teaching moment," Mahoney said.
Call them the party poopers. Call them committed to their ideals. Whatever you call them, protesters will be present in the nation's capital on Election Day. But they are expected to be there in significantly smaller numbers and quieter voices than they were during George W. Bush's two inaugurations.
Then, thousands of anti-war protesters turned out along the parade route and elsewhere, banging drums and shouting slogans.
Though there will be far fewer demonstrations for Obama's presidential debut, an array of activists see an opportunity to broadcast their messages to the millions expected to swarm Washington, D.C. for the historic event.
"Amidst all the celebrations and celebratory events, the voice of 53 million killed through abortion should be heard," said Mahoney, who is organizing the Birmingham Letter Project and serves as executive director of the Christian Defense Coalition.
But groups hoping to advance their agendas on Tuesday are taking a decidedly soft approach: Birmingham Letter Project and other groups describe their demonstrations as opportunities to learn. Besides, they say, it may be far too crowded to execute an effective demonstration.
Supporters of giving Washington, D.C. citizens a vote in Congress will "meet around" -- but not protest in front of -- a federal building, holding signs and wearing bumper stickers, said Kevin Kiger, communications director for DC Vote.
"There's too much going on," Kiger said. "It's a tough time to get people organized."
Kiger's group is hoping that Congress passes legislation to give D.C. a vote in the U.S. House of Representatives. Because a bill has been introduced into Congress, DC Vote doesn't want to appear disruptive. Rather, it considers the inauguration as an opportunity to teach the public about Washington's lack of representation.
"This will be a natural time for people to learn more," Kigel said. "There will be visibility of taxation without representation."
Mahoney's group has been granted 80 feet of space along the inauguration route to demonstrate. But because of the massive crowd expected Tuesday, Mahoney thinks there's a good chance that some of the designated space will be taken by other attendees. To secure the space, 10 marshals from his organization, the Christian Defense Coalition, will be permitted to enter the inauguration route half an hour before others.
One group that may not be as conciliatory is the Westboro Baptist Church. That's the Topeka, Kan. organization with a strong anti-gay position that has picketed around the country at the funerals of U.S. soldiers who died in Iraq. It's planning a peaceful picket for the inauguration, according to Janet Braxton, a press officer for the National Parks Service.
Others that have received protest permits include James Cook, who has reserved space on Pennsylvania Avenue near the Department of Justice to demand that the Bill of Rights be upheld; the anti-war group ANSWER, which has space at Freedom Plaza; "Coalition for Peace," which has space in a park, and the "Washington Peace Center," which plans a march.

(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)