Found this today

NASHVILLE, April 11 — As dozens of mourners streamed solemnly into church to bury Cpl. David A. Bass, a fresh-faced 20-year-old marine who was killed in Iraq on April 2, a small clutch of protesters stood across the street on Tuesday, celebrating his violent death.

"Thank God for Dead Soldiers," read one of their placards. "Thank God for I.E.D.'s," read another, a reference to the bombs used to kill service members in the war. To drive home their point — that God is killing soldiers to punish America for condoning homosexuality — members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., a tiny fundamentalist splinter group, kicked around an American flag and shouted, if someone approached, that the dead soldiers were rotting in hell.

Since last summer, a Westboro contingent, numbering 6 to 20 people, has been showing up at the funerals of soldiers with their telltale placards, chants and tattered American flags. The protests, viewed by many as cruel and unpatriotic, have set off a wave of grass-roots outrage and a flurry of laws seeking to restrict demonstrations at funerals and burials.

"Repugnant, outrageous, despicable, do not adequately describe what I feel they do to these families," said Representative Steve Buyer, an Indiana Republican who is a co-sponsor of a Congressional bill to regulate demonstrations at federal cemeteries. "They have a right to freedom of speech. But someone also has a right to bury a loved one in peace."

The New York Times

There is more to the story.
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I am saddened that the families could not pay their last respects for the men who died for their country. Something needs to be done.
I am glad that not all Christians are like this.

They are freaks, if you ever get a chance to go to their website, do so as it is an eye opener as to how some people view the world.

I think that everyone has the right to free speech, but they are cutting close to the fine line of deserving to be moved away from any funeral procession by force. They can go stand outside of the court house just fine, but being ouside of a funeral is just too much.

Personally I'd love to see them go outside the gates of Ft. Bragg NC with those signs and see what the reaction is. It is easy to torture people in mourning for their loved one to get press time, but I doubt they would be so brave to do so in front of people that are willing and able to stick up fpr themselves.

This is one more reason why I think that religion is just bad for society; there are very few this extreme, but there is a spectrum of religious idiots that have unbelievable ideas about the world around them and who deserves what punishment for things they had nothing to do with.

Been there....

I can think of a lot more things to waste my time on.

I can't imagine how twisted your mind has to be to do something like this. I can't even find words to describe how revolting it is.

If it wasn't religion, it would be something else. There will always be people like this around, trying to connect their strange and perverted beliefs with something mainstream.

OH MY, i was JUST at their site, before i saw this. (coincedince, lol)

they are the christian equivalent of the radical muslims in iraq.

BUT, luckily there is a biker group. (the patriot riders) that follow these picketers, and line the roads. blocking them out of view and earshot.

http://www.dumpalink.com/media/1145695609/...ptist_Protestor

A "discussion" between some sane men and the rather insane woman that is the daughter of this small religious sects pastor.

Just watching her speak suck evil with a smile on her face is unnerving.

That would be quite some mystery on how an entire group of protesters just disappeared.


As much as I love free speech, I hate these idiots with a passion.

God, not these idiots again. I hate these people. They need to be taught a lesson.

she got pwned, lol

they called her "an abomination whos an embarassment to this country"

and much more....awesome

Removed innapropriate link- Dot

It seems that they threaten to report anyone to the FBI that threatens to kill them. I wonder where their God is to protect them, what a hypocritical organization.

How is this any different from a cult? They brainwash their young, keep their members close, and follow the lead of a violently insane man. What's more, they abuse every freedom this country allows them, while the people they harrass can't do anything about it. It's one thing if it's just a slapdash group of morons, but they have a a great deal of power and know how to use it. That's the scary part about it.

That interview was almost funny in the foolish belief of that women.

This just shows what can happen if you take the bible to literally. Though i think it also takes a major mental disorder to be this bad.

The reverend called the Holocaust minor and said that the Jews are the Nazis.

Part of my family were Gypsies from Poland and they were cleansed very strongly. The fact that i exist is only due to hitlers failed plan so i find that personally offensive.

I'd call them a cult. And not a good cult either. They need to be led off a cliff.

i feel sorry for the soldier's family.nothing is sacred anymore.that's sad.

I don't think she even believes in God. That's why she is trying to be him. Psycos are just drawn to religion. There is freedom of speech, and then there is abuse of freedom of speech. She needs to be took out back behind the tool shed and givin a good ole whoopin.

I was a christian untill i heard about this... i am sick beyond believe, and just reading your post im in tears. I can not be a christian after hearing that, just a small number of them has almost severed my love of god. I only prey that this isnt going to blow up into an issue..

Bia'ilensihe don't let extremists like this spoil your belief in God. No matter what religion you ultimately decide on there will alway be extremists.

Agreed. Those people are so messed up it's not even funny.

Im sorry but after things like this i begin to question things.

You did nothing to be sorry for and it never hurts to question

I was just saying do not let idiots like that spoil it for you.

It's healthy to question things. We all should, its helps us grow as a person. If you were not in tune with a higher power this would not even bother you. Remember, "you will know them by thier fruits", meaning, you will know them by thier actions, and how they treat others. Clearly thier actions tell the real story of who they are and what they really believe in and stand for. Keep the faith bro.

Where are the bikers when you need them. I bet they wouldn't pull that at a biker funeral. I wish they would just to see them get pounded in the ground.

I think they were at one or two of them.

so let me get this straight. when people protest political events and important political figures they have to do it 3 miles down the road with cops in full riot gear making sure they dont inch any closer, and yet, these piles are allowed within ear shot? that makes no damn sense at all. they shouldn't be allowed anywhere near those funerals. they can say what they want to say on thier website or 3 miles down the road from those funerals. at least then we'd have some consistancy, and those dead kids greiving families can be left alone by these nut jobs.

This is making me sick. Let me tell you this if I was there, they probaly wouldn't have a face left! And I am desperately trying to restrain my self from going on a warpath. I wonder if they would do this in England. Becuase if they did, most likely nothing would be left to stitch together

I just caught this video on YOUTUBE - CNN reports on this mess:

ACLU supports Westboro

I am appauld that a church group that preaches: HATE, RACISM, DISCRIMINATION, PREJUDICE, and more is getting support from the ACLU!

This fanatic church group is based out of Kansas .. right where my daughter is currently waiting for my son-in-law, who was born and raised in Michigan, to come home from Iraq. This group planned to harrass 2 more dead soldiers families that died in Iraq at their funerals in Michigan! My son-in-law is in Iraq right now as an MP helping to train the Iraqi police.

This group parades and preaches their hatred in ALL STATES.

Michigan is currently trying to pass a law from preventing this sort of thing to happen there.

ACLU is now going to go after the state of Kentucky for passing this law that prevents this group from parading around there.

Did anyone catch this one ? The day AFTER the Iowa governer signed a law to prevent this sort of thing at ANY funeral, this group was there in Iowa at another soldier's funeral Insane woman on Hannity & Colmes

I am so ticked off that I wrote a letter to ACLU. It will probably get "round filed" but I am sure there are many others that are sending them requests to demand they pull their support as well. *sigh*

If anyone is interested in contacting ACLU you can do this here:
http://www.aclu.org/contact/general/index.html

For every one complaint heard, there are at least 10 that go unheard.

I am all for freedom of speech, but I don't believe that all the men and women that have fought and died for this countries freedom in ALL our wars, not just in Iraq, ever thought it would be for Freedom to be F**cked.

This group not only does this at funerals but protested at the Holocaust Museum in DC and more.

Thank you Cinders!

This is what I sent the ACLU:

I understand and agree with the ACLU defending our Civil Liberties and such, but what of the rights of the fallen soldiers family to bury their/our sons who gave the ultimate price defending our way of life.
Westboro Baptist Church has every right to voice what they believe in, but do our sons (yours and mine) also have a right to a peaceful and dignified funeral?

Every one that reads this and agrees with us....send a message to the ACLU.

From Cinders:
If anyone is interested in contacting ACLU you can do this here:
http://www.aclu.org/contact/general/index.html

It is I that thanks you Zandore, for starting this thread and for taking the time to write ACLU.

You really think it will do any good?

Sadly I do not.

It probaly wouldn't make any difference. If they are so inhumane to disrespect dead ones, then nothing is goin to stop these idiots. Lets just hope they never do that where I can see. *Cracks knuckles*

i dont agree with the war, but the soliders funeral is about his family and is sacred,,
maybe,,, just ignore them and they will go away.

To be honest there idiots.



if they want to protest thats great its there right to do it but at a funeral is wrong and that just goes to show how dim witted and moronic they are.

With no disrespect intended Louie but this 'inaction' will not work. Sticking our heads in the sand will not make them go away and I really wish it was that easy.

Cinders has a good idea:

This sort of thing is just tasteless. I don't care what your cause is, there's a time and place to protest. And you don't do it at a funeral. And if people keep on tolerating it, they'll keep on doing it.

No they don't go away.. I recently found this story from last year- This soldier was only 19 years old when she died in Iraq. This hell bent organization is really causing hell not only for familes of dead soldiers but for others!


Tuesday, June 14, 2005

His church was bombed, and now he protests funerals of the war dead
Kansas preacher says he's coming to Idaho

By CHUCK OXLEY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

BOISE, Idaho -- A Kansas preacher and gay rights foe whose congregation is protesting military funerals around the country said he's coming to Idaho tomorrow to picket the memorial for an Idaho National Guard soldier killed in Iraq.

A flier on the Web site of Pastor Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church claims God killed Cpl. Carrie French with an improvised explosive device in retaliation against the United States for a bombing at Phelps' church six years ago.

"We're coming," Phelps said yesterday.

Westboro Baptist either has protested or is planning protests of other public funerals of soldiers from Michigan, Alabama, Minnesota, Virginia and Colorado. A protest is planned for July 11 at Dover Air Force Base, the military base where war dead are transported before being sent on to their home states.

Phelps gained national notoriety in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student beaten to death in Wyoming.

Since then, Phelps said his church has been the target of hateful words and actions, including a bomb attack six years ago.

Phelps' church has picketed the funerals of AIDS victims for more than a decade.

French, 19, was a Caldwell High School graduate and varsity cheerleader. She was killed June 5 in the northern city of Kirkuk. French served as an ammunition specialist with the 116th Brigade Combat Team's 145th Support Battalion.

Phelps said the fact that French led an all-American life gives him all the more reason to picket her final public tribute.


"An all-American girl from a society of all-American heretics," he said.

"Our attitude toward what's happening with the war is the Lord is punishing this evil nation for abandoning all moral imperatives that are worth a dime," Phelps said.

Caldwell Police Chief Bob Sobba said he cannot bar Phelps from going to the public funeral, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. at the Albertson College of Idaho in that city.

"While we respect Mr. Phelps' right to protest, we would hope that he would respect the family and friends of this young person by not disrupting the memorial," Sobba said.

Idaho Air National Guard Lt. Tony Vincelli, acting as spokesman for French's family, said there were no plans to change the funeral arrangements.

The Rev. Brian Fischer, pastor of Boise's Community Church of the Valley, and himself a past target of protest by the Westboro Baptist Church, decried Phelps' plan.

"What Phelps is doing is a reprehensible thing, to take a funeral and turn it into a photo op for his hate cause," Fischer said.

"We hope everyone will ignore Phelps' group."

In 2003, Phelps demanded that he be allowed to erect an anti-gay monument in a Boise public park. To avoid a lawsuit from his group, city officials voted in 2004 that a Ten Commandments monument be moved out of the park.

Link: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/228401_westboro14.html

Read and SEE this recent article dated May 5th, 2006:

Outside the funeral for Sgt. Rick Herrema of Hudsonville, MI

I took an early lunch and stopped by the hoopla outside the funeral for Sgt. Rick Herrema of Hudsonville, MI. The folks from Westboro Baptist Church were there across the street, and supporters of the family, the military, and the United States in general were there to show their support. (click each for a bigger version)

You will have to go to the link to see all the pictures (click on the SEMI TRUCK PIC) on this one (READ the comments left on this article too!) :
Link: http://www.murdoconline.net/archives/003706.html

A few more showing they just don't go away....
(wonders if Oregon has the law to prevent disorderly conduct at funerals?)

IndyStar.com Local News Metro & State
March 7, 2006

Protesters picket at Michigan rites

Mourners in Flint, Mich., weren't so fortunate Monday.

There, a handful of Westboro Baptist Church members picketed at the funeral of Allan Morr, who was killed alongside Sgt. Rickey Jones and two other soldiers. The soldiers were patrolling the streets of Al Hawijah, north of Baghdad, when a bomb destroyed their Humvee.
Michigan doesn't have a law like Indiana's making disorderly conduct within 500 feet of a funeral a felony.
Illinois, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma are considering legislation similar to Indiana's.
In Kansas, the home state of the church group, the legislature passed the Kansas Funeral Picketing Act in 1992, prohibiting protests at funerals. After the Westboro church challenged the law and won a federal court decision, the law was amended to ban picketing from one hour before to two hours after a funeral.
-- Will Higgins

Link: Protesters picket at Michigan Rites

And another article found here dated March 28,2006

Eagle man laid to rest: Hundreds salute soldier's proud service, ready grin - 'Wall of silence' mutes funeral protesters

By Hugh Leach Lansing State Journal
Created: 3/28/2006 6:50:53 AM
Updated: 3/28/2006 9:39:40 AM

Man killed in Iraq 'always there if you needed him'

GRAND LEDGE - Hundreds of family, friends and military members turned out Monday to honor and remember Army Cpl. Nyle Yates III, a "good kid" with a memorable grin.

Yates, 22, of Eagle, was killed March 16 when he came under small-arms fire during combat operations in Bayji, Iraq.

"Although he grew into a man's body, he was just a kid at heart," said the Rev. Ben Ridder, pastor of Harvest Community Church in Lake Odessa, where Yates grew up.

The army corporal also was proud of his military service, Ridder said. A member of the 101st Airborne Division, Yates was serving his second tour of duty in Iraq at the time of his death.

"In one of his last e-mails home, Nyle wrote, 'Hi Mom. What are you doing? I'm saving the world,' " Ridder said.

Friends also spoke fondly of the young soldier following graveside services at Glendale Cemetery in Meridian Township.

"He was the best friend anybody could have," said Mike "Opie" Vipond, one of Yates' closest friends. "You couldn't be more proud of anyone in your life."

Hannah Rutgers and Stephanie Deuel, who knew Yates when they were attending Lakewood High School in Lake Odessa, remembered him as "a great guy."

"He had a ready smile and was really fun," Rutgers said. "And he was always there if you needed him."

"If you had a bad day, he was there to help pick you up," Deuel added.

Carl Fox of the Fowler-Pewamo VFW post was among the veterans who attended both the funeral and the graveside services.

Fox served in Germany right after the end of World War II.

"I'm here to honor the memory of this gentleman who did so much for us as well as those still serving," Fox said Monday.

Spc. Kenneth Grayson of the 113th Army Band, based at Fort Knox, Ky., played taps following a 21-gun salute during the graveside ceremony.

"It's a time of deep sorrow at the loss of life, but it's also a time to remember the person and what he did for us," Grayson said.

Yates was the 10th member of the military with known ties to mid-Michigan who has died during the war in Iraq.

'Wall of silence' mutes funeral protesters

Outside Grand Ledge Baptist Church, where funeral services were held for Army Cpl. Nyle Yates III, about 250 flag-waving veterans and other supporters lined Willow Street to make sure the solemn occasion was not disrupted by nearby protesters.

Three people affiliated with the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., showed up at the funeral service, but they were vastly outnumbered by veterans and leather-clad members of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of veterans and motorcycle riders.

Westboro church members have appeared at military funerals across the country for several months, saying U.S. soldiers are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.

The veterans and motorcyclists formed a "wall of silence" to keep protesters away from the funeral.

The Grand Ledge Police Department supported the group's efforts and discouraged any counterdemon-strations.

"The funeral today is to honor Corp. Yates and all of the other men and women who serve our country with honor and courage," the department said in a news release. "Unplanned spontaneous counter demonstrations will only degenerate the solemnity of this memorial and add a circus atmosphere to their time of mourning and remembrance." - From staff writer Hugh Leach and The Associated Press

Link: Eagle Man Laid to Rest

Look at what I found

Patriot Guard Riders WEB SHOTS

Why Do We Ride?

Why do we do this, you ask?
Why bother to stand out in wind and rain for someone unknown?
Why do we ride through torrents chilled to the bone?
The answer is simple: “Because, Never Again!”

Never again will they return home in shame,
Never again will wearing their uniform cause them pain.
Never again will we forget why they serve.
No, Never Again.

But still I hear you say “Why does it matter to you?”
“They aren’t your friends, your brothers, your sisters, your father, your mother.”
War is a sad time for many; it is sad but true.
So, why do you gather in the gap between their families and their foes?
The answer is simple: “Because, Never Again!”

Never again will grieving parents, families and friends alone bear mourning’s toil.
Never again will hard-won freedom of speech be used to debase and destroy.
Never again will their sacrifice be dishonored upon their home soil.
No, Never Again.

Why do we gather, why do we ride?
Why travel this country far and wide?
We remember our grandfathers, fathers, brothers and others yet to come.
We stand proud through tears reflecting their courage and pride.
Because, Never Again.

That’s why we ride.

Laurel B. Dinsmore May 8, 2006

BECOME A PATRIOT GUARD RIDER

Zandore! THANK YOU for posting that!

I just joined.. I love how it words it : "Freedom isn't free, but membership is"

This is great! Thank you!

This HATE group was ALSO at King's funeral as reported on CNN from back in February 2006 - they don't just visit military funerals..:

"Funeral-goers were met outside the church by a protest by members of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Topeka, Kansas-based congregation is known for its anti-gay stands and frequently pickets the funerals of people supportive of gay rights, as Mrs. King was."

Body of Coretta Scott King Laid to Rest

I guess when many of us die (young or old) and we don't see eye to eye with this hate group organization.. they will be visiting our funerals too

Edit to add:

A recent article WITH a Video - PGR was there too :

Group protests at Solider's Funeral

I would have joined if I wasn't probaly to young. But still, they asked for an anti-gay monument?!?! And they are picketing next to every single funeral!
*Give his remorses to the dead soldiers*
*Picks up a rifle*
They have a right to protest, but not like that!
*Shoots of a round, like on rememberance day*
*Has a silnence*

You don't know that till you try....right?

Very true! When I signed up with PGR (I love their approach and how they handle things!) , I did not see where one had to be of a certain age.

oh.. btw.. I got some flimsy arsed reply back from ACLU. I wanted to reply back by cussing and going more in depth with them.. but they just are not worth the time of day.

However.. if enough of us say something about this, ACLU's donations can possibly be hit hard because of supporting Westboro.. so you just never know the power of words.