Posted on 07/30/2005 9:40:28 AM PDT by indcons
At a time when his loved ones are making funeral arrangements for a dedicated family man killed defending his country, a Kansas minister is making plans to use the funeral of Sgt. Christopher Taylor as a platform to push his anti-gay agenda. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan sent out press releases Wednesday announcing that his group would picket and preach at the Opelika funeral. The release is filled with anti-gay language and is headed by the line Thank God for Improvised Explosive Devices Killing Americans in Strange Lands.”
Phelps grabbed national attention with his disruptive messages at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the who was murdered in 1998 in an anti-gay hate crime in Laramie, Wyo. Since then, he has taken every opportunity to spread his message.
What do homosexuals and a tragic war death have in common? Phelps has a theory.
Using words not suitable for this newspaper, Phelps said that the government has allowed gays to take over America. He claims that the government allowed his church to be bombed by gays. As a result, Phelps claims that God is punishing the government by killing soldiers with bombs and sending them home in body bags.
We will be at the funeral to picket and and preach and let everyone know that these soldiers are dying because God is retaliating, picking off the soldiers one by one, the soldiers that are fighting for an America that is allowing homosexuals and sodomites to take over, Phelps said in a telephone interview Wednesday. We've been to seven funerals this week and will be in Opelika to spread God's word.
Opelika Mayor Gary Fuller was not aware of the planned protest before receiving a call from the Opelika-Auburn News, but made it clear that he will not allow a hero's funeral to become a circus.
This is America and Mr. Phelps has a right to protest, we would never deny him that right, Fuller said. But we aren't about to allow him to disrupt a funeral. We have the right to tell him where to go and to make sure that the protest won't be in a position to upset this family.
Fuller said he would have discussions with Opelika police Chief Tommy Mangham to have a plan to handle the possible protest.
Ahh Fred Phelps, a man the democrats wont admit is theres.
Can you please put this thread on the Free Republic activism sidebar. Thanks.
Is there a college republicans chapter at Auburn? perhaps they can help get some manpower turned out.
Exams start on Tuesday and IT IS SUMMER NOW. Howver, I will be contacting everybody I know including College Republicans (I am a member of the Auburn CR).
I would like to know when are these people going to start getting the hell beat out of them when they show up at funerals to protest?
It would be a real shame if others would express their opinions to this group by kicking the crap out of them. Not that I'd like to see it happen or anything.
Didn't mean the all CAPS there.
Affiliations with Al Gore and Democratic Party
In the 1980s, the Phelps family were strong political allies with then-senator Al Gore. The home of Fred Jr., Phelps' eldest son, located in the Westboro compound, acted as Gore's campaign quarters for one of his senate races, and the Westboro compound was host to a fundraiser. Numerous photos exist on the internet of Fred Phelps Jr. and his second wife, Betty Phelps-Schurle, posing with Al and Tipper Gore in Phelps Jr.'s home. Phelps also served as a Gore delegate on the floor of the Democratic National Convention in Atlanta in 1988. (link with photos.)
http://www.lcrga.com/archive/200010251159.shtml
During the 1992 presidential election, Fred Phelps and Fred Phelps Jr. led the members of Westboro in campaigning around the state of Kansas for Bill Clinton and Al Gore; Fred Phelps Sr. would later state in fliers that he did so with the belief that Gore would fall under WBC's political influence should he and Clinton win the election.
he wasnt killed in an anti-gay hate crime. he was killed during a drug deal gone bad. he was high on meth at the time of his murder
Pennsylvania's Lt. Governor is liable to be out there with them.
Matt's killers are gay also.
there's also a time and a place for certain issues, and a funeral isn't the one for demonstrations.
where I hail from, if you demonstrate at a funeral you risk an ole fashion ass whoopin'
We know Fred well at FR. He was a Gore delegate to the DNC and hosted Al in his home. He is also a disbarred lawyer, etc.
He was planning on coming to Florida to protest at a soldiers funeral. Some locals chatted with him by phone, explained the warm welcome he would receive.
Fred stayed home.
I just sent this article to a friend of mine who is a talk show host (conservative) in Montgomery. Hopefully, he'll use this on-air to excoriate this pinhead Phelps and to urge a counter protest.
When is the funeral? I didn't see it in either story.
Geez, just what the poor family needs - a nut case to interrupt their grieving. This idiot showed up over here in Hawaii a couple of years ago with his minions stomping on the US and the Hawaii flag, saying that Hawaii deserved Pearl Harbor and the US deserved 9/11 because of our lax attitude toward homosexuals.
That's OK. I'm two seeks into my summer term so its hard to remember that some lightweight students take the summer off :) War Eagle!
Phelps is no man - Phelps is a toilet-fish.
will no one flush this noisesome pest?
Contact the VFW, American Legion, DAV, TROAA, NCOA, Sons of the Confederacy, ELKs, then have them line the street and take up all available protest space at the church and the cemetery. Let the authorities know what you'll be doing. Have some prominent ID armband on all.
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