Guess who's coming to NW Ohio...

[TOhioLiberal]

...Tuesday?

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/2...

GI’s Gibsonburg funeral to draw friends of fallen, ‘hate group’

By JIM SIELICKI
BLADE STAFF WRITER

GIBSONBURG, Ohio — Army Spec. Robert Lee Clark knew what it was like to honor fallen comrades.

The former Gibsonburg man died April 8 in a Colorado motorcycle accident while en route to a vigil to mark the anniversary of the capture of the only U.S. soldier listed as a prisoner of war in Iraq.

On Tuesday, his peers will honor Mr. Clark.

An unintended consequence of his military funeral could develop when an anti-gay group, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., arrives in this Sandusky County village of 2,579, some 25 miles southeast of Toledo, to picket the Herman-Kinn-Veh Funeral Home.

Westboro church members have appeared at military funerals across the country, forcing a showdown between free speech and deference to grieving families. It claims the deaths of soldiers are part of God’s wrath toward America and against homosexuals.
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Oh, joy...not. :puke:

[Initech]

1. Phelps has no shame, does he?

:argh:

[Kerrytravelers]

2. It just defies any rational understanding.

As Mr. kt always says, don't even begin to try to rationalize the actions of those who are simply irrational. All you'll achieve is a headache.

[alfredo]

3. Bikers have started showing up, forming a human shield

between Fred's freaks and the funerals.

[0007]

5. Wanna bet Freddie will back down faster than a New York second.

[TOhioLiberal]

6. Yeah, they are going to be there...

...it's also in the news story.

[alfredo]

11. If it happens in this town, my veterans group will be there

standing guard.

[Marie26]

4. Sorry to hear that.

Just ignore him. He loves the outrage & publicity; if we all just ignore him, maybe he'll go away.

[walldude]

7. We've been ignoring him.. and he's not leaving.

We need to stand up to this asshole.

[Marie26]

8. How so?

I just can't think of any legal way to get him to stop.

[walldude]

9. Oh sure, make me come up with a solution...

I thought we were just supposed to bitch. :shrug: I wish I had an answer for you. The biker thing seems to be helping. Legally I think we are screwed, he does have a right to be an immoral idiot, however he crosses the line when he attends funerals. Maybe we need to pass a law giving a grieving parent, sibling or spouse the right to punch this idiot in the face. A shot in the nose might just turn him off like a light switch. I've been to 3 military funerals in as many years, and to be honest if someone had showed up to protest I don't know if I could have held my temper. My heart goes out to the families he so gladly abuses with his right to be a moran. To attack someone at what is easily the worst time of their life is beyond reprehensible.

[Marie26]

10. He's lucky no one

has assaulted him yet. And it does make me sick to think that he's inflicting more pain on people who have already suffered so much. Maybe there could be some sort of law that requires protesters to maintain a certain distance from funerals, like there already is for abortion clinics? If he's far away, these kind of protests might be easier for the families to endure. I dunno, that's the only idea I can come up with.

[walldude]

12. Looks like it's in the works, check out this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x946652