Residents of Missouri Town Block Protesters From Picketing Soldier's Funeral

[proud2BlibKansan]

Members of a small Missouri town banded together Saturday to block a controversial pastor and members of his Westboro Baptist Church from protesting the funeral of a fallen U.S. soldier, Fox4kc.com reports.

Hundreds of residents in Weston, Mo. -- as well as people as far away as California and Australia -- rallied in support of Sgt. First Class C.J. Sadell, who died from injuries suffered during a surprise attack in Afghanistan.

The residents sought to block Fred Phelps, leader of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., and his followers from picketing Sadell’s funeral, according to the station.

Phelps' church has been the subject of intense criticism for holding more than 44,000 pickets at funerals and other events – including the services of fallen service members.

Citing their First Amendment right to protest, Phelps' followers say they use funerals as an “available public platform” to “deliver the message that there is a consequence for sin.” Phelps is openly opposed to homosexuality and all government policies they he says supports homosexuals.

"We got everybody here early so we could take up all the parking spots," Rebecca Rooney of Weston, Mo., told Fox4kc.com. "We did that so Mr. Phelps wouldn't have a contingency that was really close."

more . . . http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/11/07/residents-missouri-town-block-protesters-picketing-soldiers-funeral/

[sufrommich]

1. Good for them. Human barricades should follow this idiot

wherever he goes.

[HopeHoops]

24. There are biker groups that do just that. Many of the members are Viet Nam vets.

[NaturalHigh]

2. I read this story yesterday.

Good for the residents of this town. It's far past time for people to stand up to these Phelps idiots.

[Xipe Totec]

3. People have a First Amendment right to protest Phelps. nt

[Canuckistanian]

4. Excellent.

Phelps can't sue a WHOLE TOWN.

[proud2BlibKansan]

11. I certainly wouldn't put it past him

[Justitia]

5. I thought the ginormous American flag was a pretty creative idea.

It completely blocked the hateful weirdos from being seen.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

6. Can somebody explain why the Phelps are even protesting soldier funerals?

:shrug:

I just don't get it. What do dead soldiers have to do with their anti-gay "god fearing" agenda?

[redwitch]

8. It defies explanation.

Really. it only makes sense to the Phelps family.

[Angry Dragon]

9. They say that the soldiers die because we are godless

society that promotes gays.
God's punishment

In the article he states that he uses public events to protest.
I thought funerals would be considered to be private.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

14. That's pretty psychotic and heartless

for them to do that to families of the soldiers. Shouldn't people be entitled to their own private grief? You would think that what the Phelps clan does would be considered an invasion of privacy? The Phelps clan is seriously in need of...........well, some form of mental health treatment.

[Angry Dragon]

17. You speak the truth

They do not care if they offend anyone
because god is on their side. Their god may be
a lot different than the average Christian.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Fred is certainly insane

He has also abused his kids to the point that they do pretty much whatever he asks.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

26. I saw him once on a talk show (Sally Jessy Raphael) a long time ago

As I recall he had a face that matched his soul.

[proud2BlibKansan]

27. Several of his kids have left the family

And the stories they tell are pretty horrific. He's a madman.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

29. Good for them!

n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. For attention

That's why.

[JVS]

15. Because it pisses people off.

[Posteritatis]

16. They blame pretty much everything on The Gays at this point

They 'argue' that the soldiers who die in foreign wars do so because it's a righteous, deserved punishment as a result of the US not sending all the gays to the furnaces like Phelps wants.

Substitute "the soldiers who die in foreign wars" for absolutely anything else, like their praise of the Haitian quake or the Boxing Day tsunami.

[underpants]

7. Good for them

:patriot:

[littlewolf]

10. I saw this yesterday ... this should be SOP for all areas

that Fred P. goes to ..

[proteus_lives]

13. Good for them.

Phelps has every right to do these vile "protests".

But I think his head might one day meet a two-by-four/rock/bullet/bottle. I'm not going to shed a tear.

[GoldenOldie]

18. Sargent First Class Sadell

Just received an e-mail from my grandson Nicholas who was a very close friend and comrade of Sadell in Afghanistan. Nicholas' job is monitoring the drones and calling in air support for the troops and for air med-evacs. SGT Sadell stepped on 35lbs of explosives and earlier in the day Nicholas group lost an entire EOD (bomb squad) team. Somehow Nicholas saw the news report on the Phelps protest at his friends funeral and he and his comrades are angry as hell that these people are allowed to do this to his friends family. Nicholas has seen many horrors from his first tour in Iraq and now his 2nd tour in Afghanistan. He has lost many friends and is fighting not only the enemy but he along with his buddies, PTSD and this is the first e-mail that he has sent to many close family members detailing not only the entire incident but also following his friend Sadell's evac to Germany, his treatment and his final goodbyes to family. Nicholas made us all feel like we personally knew his friend Sadell. The Phelps tribe are no different than the Jim Jones cult and should not be allowed or given permits to demean the lives of our soldiers.

[nadinbrzezinski]

19. Comic-Con redux

GOOD!

[Withywindle]

20. Good.

Yeah, sure, those sick fucks have a right to protest. But don't people have a right to mourn lost loved ones without being subjected to obscene hate speech? It's already one of the worst days in their lives, do they not have a right of some sort to be protected from assholes who only want to make it even worse?


Let them protest somewhere else. I LOVES me some First Amendment, but I frankly would be fine about not allowing protests targeted at funerals. Even when Dick Cheney dies, I'll be dancing privately in my own apartment and toasting gleefully with friends and probably making sick jokes all over DU, but I'm not willing to fight for my own right to shove it in his family's face up close and personal.

[proud2BlibKansan]

22. If Cheney's daughter doesn't shut up

I'll have a hard time resisting shoving it in HER face.

His wife's an ass too.

But yes, we should have more class than this. :)

[Profprileasn]

21. Good job, town of Weston

[ljm2002]

25. Good for them!

Just reading about this made me envision kicking these assholes in their shins, good and hard, with a steel-toed boot.

But that would be wrong.

[Liberal_in_LA]

28. K&R

[R. P. McMurphy]

30. Too late to recommend . . .

but I'll give this a kick. Bravo for the good people of Weston. It's about time someone stood up the the hate and un-christian actions of Westboro. I hope this happens everywhere Westboro tries to show it's ugly face.