Bunny In The Foxhole

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Bikers drown out Westboro protest

Patriot Guard uses free speech against the funeral protesters.

By Ambreen Ali
When it comes to military funerals, the line between free speech and privacy rights can be uncomfortably thin.
To thicken it, members of the Patriot Guard Riders literally stand between grieving families and the "God hates fags" signs the Westboro Baptist Church members uses to protest soldiers' funerals.
When the Westboro activists shouted, "God hates America," to a procession outside Arlington National Cemetery Monday, the riders—many of whom are veterans—revved their motorcycles to drown the protesters out.
"There's very few things on Earth louder than a V-Twin Harley Davidson," said Dylan Waite, an Army first lieutenant and Patriot Guard volunteer who used his car alarm to contribute to the noise.
Few approve of the church's tactics, but free-speech advocates like the American Civil Liberties Union have lined up to defend them on First Amendment grounds.
When the Supreme Court hears oral arguments on the issue Wednesday, those groups are expect to argue in favor of the Patriot Guard's approach to the free-speech conundrum: Drown them out with more speech.
'Law doesn't prohibit insulting'
Margie Phelps, the daughter of Westboro Pastor Fred Phelps, arrived at the cemetery 15 minutes before the funeral of Lt. Brendan Looney, a 29-year-old Navy SEAL who was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan last month.
She and her two nieces rushed towards a barricade the National Parks Service, which is used to working with the group, had set up for the protest.
Phelps slipped on a T-shirt that said, "God hates fags.com" as the girls pulled out signs with an array of messages: "Thank God for IEDs," "Thank God for dead soldiers," "God hates Obama," "America is doomed," "Mourn for your sins," and "Don't worship the dead."
"The law doesn't prohibit insulting," Phelps said. "It's not insulting to tell the public to avoid the wrath it faces. We're here to tell them that everything you have tried is not working. Stop sinning and the soldiers will stop dying."
The activists identified homosexuality as the sin that concerns them the most. Phelps said she does not know whether Looney was gay and said that it does not matter.
"He put on the uniform that today in the whole world stands for same-sex relationships," she said.
Phelps is the lawyer defending the Westboro Baptist Church in the Supreme Court case. Most of the church's 60 members are part of the Phelps family, and many of them are lawyers who have spent decades defending their right to protest.
"We always win the litigation. We litigate as a last resort," Phelps said.
About half of churchgoers are expected to be in D.C. this week for a series of protests outside the Capitol, White House, Supreme Court, and Arlington National Cemetery as the case begins.
On Monday, the trio stood close to the Metro stop outside the cemetery, hundreds of feet from the entrance to the sprawling grounds. Protesters are not allowed inside, and Phelps said her group always respects the rules.
"We don't do controversial picketing like the abortion protesters. It's not proper," she said.
Just before the motorcyclists roared onto the scene, a pedestrian on his way to Looney's funeral stopped to shout, "God hates people like you," at the Phelps family.
Tom Henneberg explained that he respects freedom of speech but believes such protests infringe upon the rights of the grieving families.
"[The protesters] are far enough away, but it's still offensive," he said as he walked away.
Counterprotesters make noise
A dozen members of the Patriot Guards, who attend military funerals at the request of the families, rode in front of Looney's funeral procession.
They lined up in front of the Phelps family, blocking the protest signs with motorcycles and giant American flags. Then they stood and saluted as Looney's family drove by.
Some children in the family stared out at the spectacle. Drivers rolled down their windows to give the riders a thumbs up.
"Our veteran friends are here," Phelps had said when the bikers first arrived. Later, she said to them, "Try to bring a few more people next time, ladies. That's a pretty poor showing."
The Patriot Guard turnout was indeed small compared to some of the group's previous events, where hundreds turned up to defend the deceased soldiers.
Since it began in response to Westboro five years ago, the group has enlisted volunteer coordinators in every state, and thousands of people have made it their mission to counter the church wherever it goes.
The bikers still outnumbered the Westboro activists four to one at Looney's service.
To some of the tourists who caught the spectacle, even that was not enough. They said they hoped the Supreme Court would consider curbing the Westboro demonstrations.
"I believe in freedom of speech," Ann Chandler, a Sunday School teacher from Louisiana, said. "But to me, there is nothing more sacred than a funeral."


I am all for free speech,but something needs to be done about these freaks.Why not make them keep their vile hatred at their own "church"? When they go traveling around,everyone knows why they are going and what their intentions are. I keep telling myself that someday this whole clan WILL have to answer to God Himself (before He sends them to hell..hopefully...Yes I know,I am kinda hypocritical here myself,these fleabags just irritate me til all common sense and reasoning is GONE) as to why they saw fit to take HIS job as judge.

I still stand by my previous statement that Fred Phelps himself is gay,and is so filled with self loathing that he has to turn it on to someone before it eats away at his own self.I wanted to say "eats away at his own soul",but I dont feel he has one...

Hey Freddi boi, didnt you ever learn to "hate the sin,NOT the sinner"??? Leave our soldiers and their families ALONE! (Meaning both deceased,and living,you crackpot!)

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posted by LadyWolf at 4:55 PM

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