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The Democratic National Convention was held in Charlotte Sept. 4-6, 2012. WFAE's comprehensive coverage of the event is found here.

A Pro-Life Group Uses Silence To Send A Message

Protests continue in Uptown Charlotte today. WFAE's Julie Rose reports on a march that provided a stark contrast to the more boisterous demonstrations the city's seen since the DNC began.

There was no chanting or jockeying with police. The "America, Defend Life" march that moved slowly up Tryon Street around noon Wednesday was about 100 people, weaving between bystanders on the sidewalk, quietly praying.

"We don't need to be loud or chant.  Silence is okay, being a witness, a witness to life," said Charlotte resident Andrea Hines who organized the march.  "The DNC has come to our city.  We are a bunch of local Charlotte pro-lifers and we've gathered together and are giving a message that a baby in the womb is a person."

At the front of the group, walking soberly in priest's robes was Father Timothy Reid of St. Ann's Catholic Church. At the corner of Trade and Tryon, he climbed up on a footstool with a microphone as the marchers circled around. He condemned abortion and called contraception the "root of the problem."

"Let the pro-aborts contracept their children into oblivion, but for those of us who stand for life, let's be clear we must follow God's laws and it starts right there. May God bless all of you," said Reid.

Only when a dozen pro-choice activists began to chant and wave signs at the group did things get tense enough for police to form a circle around the pro-life demonstrators. After twenty minutes, the yelling subsided and the pro-life march concluded as quietly as it began.