- David Leach (activist)
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Dave Leach Born Dave Francis Leach
November 12, 1945
Iowa City, IowaEducation Drake University (music education, 1967) Occupation Band instrument repairman at family's music store in Des Moines, Iowa, 1972–present
Writer-editor of a magazine of anti-abortion polemics, 1989–present
Broadcaster on Public-access televisionOther names Uncle Ed
Secretary General of the Army of God[1]Official website Dave Francis Leach is a Des Moines anti-abortion activist and publisher of the extremist newsletter Prayer & Action News and web site The Partnership Machine.[2] His publications support the doctrine of justifiable homicide in the case of abortion doctors, the same doctrine cited[3] by Prayer & Action News subscriber and contributor Scott Roeder[4] prior to the Assassination of George Tiller, a Kansas abortion doctor. Leach reprinted the Army of God manual, which lists ways to damage abortion buildings from putting super glue in locks to two simple bomb recipes, in the January 1996 issue of his magazine.[5] The manual had previously been published only anonymously, and mailed anonymously to pro-life leaders and news reporters. Leach's reprint of it was the first printing that was not anonymous. The introduction explained that Janet Reno's Virginia Grand Jury had, for a year, subpoenaed pro-lifers and "commanded" them to bring any copies they had of the Army of God Manual, which were then taken, treating possession of a book as some kind of crime. Leach explained that reprinting it threw down the gauntlet: "if owning a book is a crime, here I am; prosecute me." Within days after reprints went in the mail, the Virginia Grand Jury was disbanded.
The manual concludes with a paragraph commonly said to advocate the killing of abortion providers.[6] The sentences are "...Whosoever sheds mans blood, by man shall his blood be shed [Gen. 9:6]...we are forced to take arms against you. Our life for yours..." Leach insists that the problem with interpreting this as advocating justifiable homicide is that (1) it says "our life for yours" instead of "your life for the babies'"; and (2) the book only shows how to damage property, never how to hurt people.[7] The alternative interpretation Leach says he had when he reprinted the manual is that the "arms" could mean the tools of vandalism, and "our life for yours" could reference the Christian concept of paying the penalty owed by another - viz. "we will pay the penalty you have earned, by risking spending the rest of our own lives in jail to right your wrongs." Leach cites page 48 of his reprint, which says “murder” is “something no pro-lifer would recommend, being pro-life”. And page 76: “We must die that others may live....don’t construe this to mean I recommend executing abortionists. I do not. Although I think it easily justified from Holy Writ, the A. O. G. adheres to the principle of minimum force. Mercy, rather than justice is the driving force behind our actions.”
Leach’s clarifications should not be taken as distancing himself from the concept of “justifiable homicide”. On the contrary, he wrote a legal brief for Scott Roeder, docketed in Roeder's case January 7, 2010, which alleges that shooting Dr. George Tiller was not only justified by the Bible, but by Supreme Court case law in 2003, Federal law in 2004, and Kansas law in 2007.[8]
Biography
Leach has run for the Iowa legislature five times and lost, his first race (1986) as a Democrat (1986) and in the rest (1988, 1990, 2000, 2002) as a Republican. Leach runs a family-owned Des Moines, Iowa, music store, the Family Music Center, and operates a cable TV show called "The Uncle Ed. Show"[9][10] Prior to Leach's magazine's controversial reprint of the Army of God manual in 1996, Leach also worked as a journalist for the central Iowa newspaper Ankeny Today.[11]
Prominence
Commentary about Leach and his anti-abortion positions and activities has been featured in the Village Voice,[12] New York Times,[13] Iowa Independent,[14] and The Nation.[15] He has been a guest on several radio talk shows[16] advocating that numerical limitations on immigration be replaced with basic criteria. He is listed in Marquis Who's Who publications, including Who's Who in America.
References
- ^ http://www.saltshaker.us/AmericanIssues/Life/answers.htm
- ^ "The Partnership Machine". http://www.saltshaker.us/.
- ^ "Defendant in Dr. Tiller's Killing Railed Against Abortion". KWCH News. http://www.kwch.com/Global/story.asp?S=10452151.
- ^ Davey, Monica. "People: Scott Roeder". The New York Times. http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/r/scott_roeder/index.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ Bray, Michael (1996-01-22). "Buchanan: Disestablishing Statism". The Christian Gallery. http://www.christiangallery.com/spr961.htm. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
- ^ Mott, Ronni (June 1, 2009). "Jackson Clinic on Alert". Jackson Free Press. http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/index.php/site/comments/jackson_clinic_on_alert_060109/. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ "Scott Roeder Resources". http://www.saltshaker.us/Scott-Roeder-Resources.htm.
- ^ "Response to In Limine Motion" (PDF). http://www.saltshaker.us/Scott-Roeder-Resources/Brief4Roeder.pdf. Retrieved July 27, 2010.
- ^ http://www.desmoinesregister.com/article/20090602/NEWS/906020365
- ^ http://www.saltshaker.us/AboutThisSite/AboutEd.htm
- ^ http://www.christiangallery.com/spr961.htm
- ^ http://www.villagevoice.com/related/to/David+Leach
- ^ Clymer, Adam (2002-08-24). "Privacy Furor As Baby Death Goes Unsolved". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2002/08/24/us/privacy-furor-as-baby-death-goes-unsolved.html?n=Top/Reference/Times%20Topics/Subjects/C/Children%20and%20Youth&pagewanted=2. Retrieved 2010-05-01.
- ^ http://iowaindependent.com/15657/tiller-assassination-suspect-linked-to-des-moines-activist
- ^ http://www.thenation.com/doc/20020930/pollitt
- ^ http://www.saltshaker.us/hispanichope/hispanichope.htm
Categories:- American pro-life activists
- 1945 births
- Living people
- American magazine editors
- Drake University alumni
- Iowa Republicans
- People from Iowa City, Iowa
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