Yet Another Reason to Despise the ACLU

(Ed. Note: I did not want to put a photo of this group up because they are so despicable, but I realized that some people have not seen nor heard of Phelps and his group and I felt it was important for people to see just how hateful this group is. Notice these are kids! They have brainwashed their children into this hate!)

There is a horrid man name Fred Phelps who is the self-proclaimed leader of the Westboro Baptist Church who enjoys protesting at the funerals of our fallen soldiers. He and his "followers" have also made appearances at some of the funerals of the miners who died in Sago and they made national headlines for the first time when they protested at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay man who was beaten and left to die tied to a fence in Laramie, WY. This person and his people carry signs that have such sayings as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God For Dead Soldiers" and cause such disruption at these funerals that oftentimes the police become involved. Fred likes getting arrested and harrassed because that's what he's after. He wants to take anyone who assaults him to court and he often wins, thus he funds his exploits across the country. The reason he wins is that it's a free-speech issue for him. For the families of the fallen, it's a case of common, moral decency.

Because of Phelps, many states are passing laws that provides a buffer zone around funerals to limit his access to these families who are mourning. Now, that seems like a pretty smart thing to do. He can still spout his hate and the families don't have to be confronted by him. Well, the ACLU doesn't see it that way. They believe that Phelps should have access to the funerals because of the First Amendment. Well, we know they have never been the epitome of decency, so this is not surprising. Unfortunately, with the backing of the ACLU, Phelps (a disbarred lawyer himself) will have even more funds to spread his hate.

The one bright point in all this...people have come together. A group called Patriot Guard Riders have made it their calling to attend the funerals of our fallen soldiers out of respect and to help combat the Phelps group in a peaceful and legal way. They bring 3' x 5' flags which they carry and then hold in a line so that there is a physical barrier between the family and the hatemongers. If you have a chance, check out their website. These are the good guys and should be supported so that the families of our fallen heros can be respected and supported and protected.

h/t: Stop the ACLU

Tags: Stop the ACLU, hatemongers, soldiers, heros