Buffalo Braces For Protests

It would be impossible to mistake this for a welcome mat: surveillance from the skies, at lest eight law enforcement agancies, even a temporary jail at Buffalo's local armory.

"We're not going to tolerate anyone from the outside," say Mayor Anthony Masiello. "We're not going to tolerate anyone dividing us."

This is what has the city on high alert: Operation Rescue has come to town. They call it Operation Save America, and they say they've sent out 60,000 invitations to join their week-long anti-abortion crusade.

But so far, there are only a few dozen protestors, which means there are more police than picketers reports CBS News Correspondent Jeffrey Kofman.

"We are absolutely amazed at the governmental buildup," says Operation Rescue's Rev. Flip Benham. "It's as if they are using howitzers to destroy mosquitoes."

But this city can't forget that it was just last October that someone used a gun to kill Barnett Slepian, a local doctor who performed abortions. Nor can it forget the ugly clashes that took place during the so-called "Spring of Life" in 1992, when thousands of anti-abortion protestors descended on the city and more than 600 were arrested.

And so the city is putting up a united front. Buffalo would rather be known for its wings.

"I think it's kind of sad we're having such a huge protest in Buffalo," says city resident Danielle Lippa, "because Buffalo itself is a city that received such bad publicity for the weather"

Another Buffalo resident, Lorry Hartman offers this advice to those who've targeted Buffalo: "Take it somewhere else or don't do it at all."

The reception Operation Rescue is finding here hasn't changed all that much since those stormy protests of '92.

A federal law now keeps protestors 15 feet away from clinic entrances. And this week, New York State got a court order to keep them 60 feet away. But even that isn't far enough for most people in this city.