David Leach (anti-abortion activist)
Encyclopedia
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. His publications support the doctrine of justifiable homicide
in the case of abortion doctors, the same doctrine cited by Prayer & Action News subscriber and contributor Scott Roeder 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. 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. 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. 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.
. He has been a guest on several radio talk shows 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.
Justifiable homicide
The United States' concept of justifiable homicide in criminal law stands on the dividing line between an excuse, justification and an exculpation. It is different from other forms of homicide in that due to certain circumstances the homicide is justified as preventing greater harm to innocents...
in the case of abortion doctors, the same doctrine cited by Prayer & Action News subscriber and contributor Scott Roeder prior to the Assassination of George Tiller
Assassination of George Tiller
On May 31, 2009, George Tiller, a physician from Wichita, Kansas who was nationally known for being one of the few doctors in the United States to perform late-term abortions, was shot and killed by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist. Tiller was killed during a Sunday morning service at his...
, 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. 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. 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. 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.
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" 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.Prominence
Commentary about Leach and his anti-abortion positions and activities has been featured in the Village Voice, New York Times, Iowa Independent, and The NationThe Nation
The Nation is the oldest continuously published weekly magazine in the United States. The periodical, devoted to politics and culture, is self-described as "the flagship of the left." Founded on July 6, 1865, It is published by The Nation Company, L.P., at 33 Irving Place, New York City.The Nation...
. He has been a guest on several radio talk shows advocating that numerical limitations on immigration be replaced with basic criteria. He is listed in Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who
Marquis Who's Who, a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc., is the American publisher of a number of directories containing short biographies...
publications, including Who's Who in America.