Did anti-gay church have rights violated? [ACLU Goes to Bat For Phelps]

Chicago Sun Times ^ | Oct. 6, 2006 | Dave McKinney

[Alouette]

SPRINGFIELD -- It's not a threat to sue. Yet. The American Civil Liberties Union has launched a broad inquiry into how Illinois is enforcing a new state law designed to keep picketers affiliated with a radical Kansas church from disrupting military funerals.

The ACLU has sent Freedom of Information Act requests to the offices of Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn and several suburban and Downstate mayors and police chiefs to see how members of Westboro Baptist Church were dealt with and whether their free-speech rights were infringed upon.

In Illinois in the last five months, church members have shown up at seven funerals for soldiers killed in the line of duty, carrying signs that said, "Thank God for dead soldiers," and, "God hates fags."

[Alouette]

ACLU and Phelps: birds of a feather

FRmail me to be added or removed from this Judaic/pro-Israel/Russian Jewry ping list.

Warning! This is a high-volume ping list.

[MadIvan]

You have got to be bloody kidding me.

Regards, Ivan

[massgopguy]

Isn't disrupting a religious service a felony?

[Red Badger]

Figures........

[fml]

Un-believable

[CindyDawg]

Westboro Antibaptist Church

[Alouette]

I freaking hate these people. (ACLU and Phelps cult)

[Alouette]

Westboro Church of Satan

[L98Fiero]

Isn't harassment against the law? If not, couldn't it be? It no reason for a right to harass others.

[MadIvan]

Surely there are enough people in their state to get some tar, feathers and rails and have a good old fashioned 19th century humilation ceremony for these lunatics.

Regards, Ivan

[george76]

 

Fred Phelps is a disbarred civil rights lawyer. His friend : Al Gore. 

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps

[Antoninus]

Why not? Phelps is a Democrat agent provocateur. They'll do whatever they can to raise his profile.

[cripplecreek]

I'm not thrilled with the idea of new constitutional amendments but anything that prevents protests of funerals is something I could get behind.

[MadIvan]

Their intended harassment of the Amish is the last straw. The Amish are constrained by their faith to not take up arms against these blighters, but the rest of us should form a protective ring around them.

Regards, Ivan

[CindyDawg]

I'm just saying their doctrine is different from Baptist I know, and I know a lot of them. I think most people "get it" by now but I just want to make sure everyone knows that we are not affiliated with these people.

[CindyDawg]

We did.

[mkjessup]

Phelps and his clan are in my view, no different than an al Qaeda sleeper cell that isn't sleeping much.

They are engaging in sedition, giving aid and comfort to America's enemies during a time of war, and if anyone needs MORE confirmation that these hatemongering pukes are past the point of redemption, they WERE planning on protesting the funerals of those Amish schoolchildren yesterday, and only some quick footwork from a FOX reporter in New York (?) prevented them from doing so.

O'Reilly had the reporter on last night and he is definitely one of the good guys.

But as for Phelps and his demonic followers?

There is already a place prepared for them, and it will be nowhere near the place where true Christians spend eternity.

[Alouette]

I don't believe they are baptists or any other flavor of Christian.

Who pays for their junketing hither and yon to disrupt funerals? They appear to have no visible means of support, other than filing lawsuits at anyone who looks at them sideways.

[TommyDale]

I would like to see this church struck by lightning or a tornado. Any act of God such as that would be perfectly acceptable.