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Washington, D.C., June 29, 2012, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Pointing a loaded gun at peaceful protestors just became a minor offence. 

At least that’s the case for Dr. Gary Boyle, an abortionist who pointed a loaded pistol at peaceful 40 Days for Life protestors, and who will now have to pay a $100 fine after pleading “guilty” Friday to a significantly reduced charge. 

The protestors were praying and counseling outside Boyle’s abortion clinic, the Charleston Women’s Medical Center in 2010, when the abortionist pointed a semi-automatic firearm at three protestors. 

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“It was shocking to see that he [Boyle] was pointing a gun at us,” said John Karafa, a 40 Days for Life participant and one of the three victims of the incident, who said that contrary to claims by the abortionist, “we were not aggressive in any way.” 

“Our lives should not be threatened because we are exercising our right to peacefully pray.”

Dr. Boyle was originally arrested for felony, facing the possibility of up to five years in jail.  However, Scarlett Wilson, South Carolina’s Solicitor for its Ninth Judicial Circuit, decided to instead reduce the charge to a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of $100 or a 30-day jail sentence.

A lawyer for the abortionist entered a guilty plea on his behalf on Friday, according to the Post-Courier.

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This isn’t the first time Boyle’s sentence has been reduced.  The abortionist’s initial charge of “aggravated assault with a firearm” was reduced to “presenting a firearm,” until it finally became a charge of “disorderly conduct.”  This last charge is usually reserved for cases of public drunkenness. 

“We are outraged at this latest evidence of a double standard applied by too many prosecutors – federal, state, and local – when it comes to charging abortion proponents with serious crimes against pro-life advocates,” said Shawn Carney, campaign director for 40-Days for Life. 

“How different would Judge Wilson’s charge be if the roles had been reversed?  Threat of violence is threat of violence – and should always be treated as a serious crime.  Dr. Boyle should be fully punished for his reckless and despicable actions.”

Tom Brejcha, president and chief counsel of the Thomas More Society, pointed out that the U.S. Justice Department has pursued pro-life advocates simply for offering literature to cars entering Planned Parenthood. “Yet such threats of deadly force against pro-lifers as occurred here in Charleston are now brushed off with a mere slap on the wrist.”

“Public safety is paramount, and it is high time that pro-lifers’ rights are fully and equally protected.”

One police report claimed that the three pro-lifers surrounded Dr. Boyle’s car.  But according to the Thomas More Society the pro-lifers never approached the abortionist or his car. 

The Charleston Women’s Medical Center is South Carolina’s largest abortion center, performing 2,550 abortions in 2008, and nearly 55,000 between 1988 and 2008, according to Columbia Christians for Life.

Boyle has been in trouble with the law before. For several years in the 1990s, Boyle operated a Bristol, Tennessee abortuary without proper state certification; however, an appeals judge eventually ruled in 2002 that the statute requiring certification violated a woman’s right to privacy.