Dr. Blaise W. Liffick

About 20 members of Silent Witnesses of Central Pa. arrived to "provide a spiritu= al firewall between protestors and the participants at the events," said Blaise Liffick, Silent Witnesses' associate director.

"We feel responsible to help the gay and lesbian communit= y in Pennsylvania feel safe and unthreatened," Liffick said, adding that the best thing = for play supporters to do is not engage the Westboro Baptist members.

Silent Witnesses is headed by Alanna Berger and Blaise Liffick.
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Dr. Blaise Liffick (Director of Operations) is a computer scientist at a PA state university, where he has been on the faculty for over 26 years.His office is a designated "Safe Zone" for GLBTQ students, and he is the faculty advisor for his school's gay-straight alliance.He has been involved with the GLBTQ community with his wife for several years, and is currently on the advisory committee for the Common Roads (a GLBTQ youth program headquartered in Harrisburg) Lancaster chapter.He is also assisting a group with planning a new pride celebration for Lancaster, PA.

"We are a human spiritual firewall," said Dr. Blaise W. Liffick, director of operations for Silent Witness of Central Pennsylvania.

Blaise LiffickDirector of OperationsSilent Witness PA
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Blaise LiffickDirector of OperationsSilent Witness PA

Blaise Liffick, director of operations for Silent Witness PA, said the volunteers were trained to not engage the protesters. Their aim was to keep festival-goers from feeling intimidated by the protesters, he said. And Silent Witness umbrellas not only provided a colorful physical barrier â€" they "make people happy," Liffick said.

Blaise Liffick, director of operations for Silent Witness PA, said the volunteers were trained to not engage the protesters. Their aim was to keep festival-goers from feeling intimidated by the protesters, he said. And Silent Witness umbrellas not only provided a colorful physical barrier - they "make people happy," Liffick said.