HELP NEEDED. Man to protest at soldier's funeral (Fred Phelps/AL Alert)

Opelika-Auburn News ^ | July 28, 2005 | Mitch Sneed

[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.

[L.N. Smithee]

And Fred Phelps was never elected to office as a Democrat. Or anything else, for that matter.

What office was David Duke elected to?

[Non-Sequitur]

What office was David Duke elected to?

Louisiana state senate in 1989.

[auboy]

BTTT

[malachismom]

If people were acting like that at my husband's funeral, there would be another funeral to attend! Do these people have no morals and respect for this soldier's family? I live in Mobile.

[martin_fierro]

[spunkets]

LOL!

[trussell]

Do we know any more on this?

[indcons]

The date for Sgt. Taylor's funeral is still fluid. However, I contacted the Opelika mayor's office and was informed that Phelps has requested and has been granted a permit for Saturday at 2:00 p.m. Thankfully, the permit will not allow Phelps and his sordid gang to come anywhere near the actual funeral.

Thanks to all FReepers for following up on this story. Special thanks to trussell, SandRat, and StarCMC among the many others who provided advice and assitance. Will keep you posted as things progress. In any case, I will be at the funeral and will also be protsting Phelps' outrage.

[indcons]

Ping

[StarCMC]

Do these people have no morals and respect for this soldier's family?

No. Not a whit.

[jaydubya2]

There doing it in Indiana also...
Sorry I'm not good at formatting.

http://www.post-trib.com/cgi-bin/pto-story/news/z1/08-04-05_z1_news_12.html

PORTAGE — A radical Baptist group from Kansas has announced that it plans to picket at the Friday morning funeral of Spc. Adam Harting. Portage police learned about the group’s intentions by fax Wednesday. “We’re doing everything here to ensure the safety of everyone,” Chief Cliff Burch said. The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, is not specifically targeting Harting, who died in Iraq last week. It pickets military funerals all over the country spreading a message that God is killing U.S. soldiers as punishment to America for allowing homosexuality. The group also has announced plans to picket at military funerals in Minnesota, Alabama and California this week. In 1988, it protested in Valparaiso, Gary and Chesterton, where a gay-awareness poster was allowed in a classroom. “It’s a nasty group,” Army Sgt. Bob Jaso, military liaison to the Harting family, said. Jaso said the group can be expected to go to extreme lengths to provoke a physical confrontation with mourners. “Then, these people have an opportunity to sue them,” he said. However, because the funeral home and cemetery where Harting will be buried are private property, Jaso said pickets will not be able to get any closer than the sidewalk across the street. “Even if they yell something, they’re still going to be far enough away that they can be ignored,” Jaso said. At other funerals, Jaso said, people were able to block the group from even being seen. Harting, 21, a 2002 graduate of Portage High School, died July 25 in Samarra, Iraq, from an explosive device. He was a member of the 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 42nd Infantry Division, based in Fort Stewart, Ga.

[StarCMC]

From what I have heard, the venue where he has been given permission to hold his little "rally" is a good distance from the place where the funeral will be held and should he decide to wander, he will be properly taken care of by the authorities. People in small towns don't worry so much about being PC as they do in the big towns, thank God. If Phelps breaks the rules, he won't get a free pass. They aren't afraid if his ilk. He breaks the rules, he pays the consequences. (And I'm not talking anything sinister - my guess is he'll go straight to jail for gathering without a permit.)

[StarCMC]

GRRRRRRRR!!!!! YOu know - I hope God stikes this guy with lightning to let him know what He thinks. This is so disgusting on so many levels. I can't even get into it. It just makes my blood boil. Let's just start with Jesus saying "if you've done this to the least of these, you've done it to me."

[trussell]

Thank you for the update! I will bump the Alabama freepers when I get home from work!

[SandRat]

Here's hoping you get a REAL BIG counter protest to these nut jobs.