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Woot! Finally a way to stop Phelps' funeral protests!


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http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-cjsadell-funeral-westboro-church-protest-110610,0,3649584.story?hpt=T2

 

If you don't want to read the story, the nutshell is that half the town turned out early to block the funeral from the protesters. Way to go, Weston, MO!

 

Awesome! That Phelps guy makes me CRAZY! We are very close to where his "church" (I say that lightly) is at, so we see and hear about lots of protests locally (Weston is also local for us) SO glad they stopped his insanity.

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http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-cjsadell-funeral-westboro-church-protest-110610,0,3649584.story?hpt=T2

 

If you don't want to read the story, the nutshell is that half the town turned out early to block the funeral from the protesters. Way to go, Weston, MO!

Good to hear that people are standing up to these crazy people. There are also motorcycle groups that attend military funerals and block the protesters from this "church" with American flags and their bikes as barriers. I think PA actually banned them from the state a few years ago to prevent them from protesting a soldier's funeral.

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Good to hear that people are standing up to these crazy people. There are also motorcycle groups that attend military funerals and block the protesters from this "church" with American flags and their bikes as barriers.

 

My step-dad is in a motorcycle group that does this in Arlington. He has been up there to block those nuts several times.

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They showed up in my hometown to protest at the funeral of a local hs graduate who died in the line of duty...the motorcycle group (wish I could remember their name!) blocked them, and well over a hundred hs families around town lined the route from the church to the cemetary, waving flags and holding encouraging/thank you signs.

 

Great job to the people in the article!

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The Patriot Guard Riders are the motorcyclists who volunteer to be funeral escorts at the request of the family. If a family doesn't want them there, they don't go (so they're not just a renegade biker group who goes to military funerals) and they have what seems to be a pretty organized website with information, in case you know a motorcyclist who'd like to be involved.

 

Some of you might also be interested in the Phelps-A-Thon website. That's mostly for when the Phelpses show up to protest at non-funeral locations (like theaters or colleges). The PAT people will solicit donations usually based on how long the Phelpses stay (like walk a thons - "for every minute they're there, I'll donate $1" or whatever) and then they make a donation to a local GLBTQ group (since that's typically what they're protesting), often in Fred Phelps's name (so that he then gets a lovely thank you letter for his donation :p).

 

I think they're a pretty nutty group (enough that I've actually wondered if they're merely great satirists a la Poe's Law), but I'm cautious about limiting their freedom of speech because then MY speech could be limited. I was glad to see this was a peaceful assembly.

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The Patriot Guard Riders are the motorcyclists who volunteer to be funeral escorts at the request of the family. If a family doesn't want them there, they don't go (so they're not just a renegade biker group who goes to military funerals) and they have what seems to be a pretty organized website with information, in case you know a motorcyclist who'd like to be involved.

 

Some of you might also be interested in the Phelps-A-Thon website. That's mostly for when the Phelpses show up to protest at non-funeral locations (like theaters or colleges). The PAT people will solicit donations usually based on how long the Phelpses stay (like walk a thons - "for every minute they're there, I'll donate $1" or whatever) and then they make a donation to a local GLBTQ group (since that's typically what they're protesting), often in Fred Phelps's name (so that he then gets a lovely thank you letter for his donation :p).

 

I think they're a pretty nutty group (enough that I've actually wondered if they're merely great satirists a la Poe's Law), but I'm cautious about limiting their freedom of speech because then MY speech could be limited. I was glad to see this was a peaceful assembly.

 

My dh is a PGR. Great group.

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Good for them! My mom and step-dad are part of the Patriot Guard Riders and have been to several funerals.

The Phelps' showed up at the funeral of a friend's husband and it was infuriating. They also showed up outside the main gate of Ft. Campbell almost every month when they held their remembrance ceremony and I just wanted to go smack each and every one of them.

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http://www.fox4kc.com/news/wdaf-cjsadell-funeral-westboro-church-protest-110610,0,3649584.story?hpt=T2

 

If you don't want to read the story, the nutshell is that half the town turned out early to block the funeral from the protesters. Way to go, Weston, MO!

 

I've lived in this area for awhile and unfortunately we have had to deal with the Phelps group a lot. Thankfully, we have become very well trained in how to deal with them. Between the people and the Harley riders we try our best to insulate the grieving family members.

 

I find the whole thing very unfortunate, but it has brought people together in many ways.

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The Patriot Guard Riders are the motorcyclists who volunteer to be funeral escorts at the request of the family. If a family doesn't want them there, they don't go (so they're not just a renegade biker group who goes to military funerals) and they have what seems to be a pretty organized website with information, in case you know a motorcyclist who'd like to be involved.

 

Some of you might also be interested in the Phelps-A-Thon website. That's mostly for when the Phelpses show up to protest at non-funeral locations (like theaters or colleges). The PAT people will solicit donations usually based on how long the Phelpses stay (like walk a thons - "for every minute they're there, I'll donate $1" or whatever) and then they make a donation to a local GLBTQ group (since that's typically what they're protesting), often in Fred Phelps's name (so that he then gets a lovely thank you letter for his donation :p).

 

I think they're a pretty nutty group (enough that I've actually wondered if they're merely great satirists a la Poe's Law), but I'm cautious about limiting their freedom of speech because then MY speech could be limited. I was glad to see this was a peaceful assembly.

 

Not about funeral protests, but SF's answer to Westboro:

 

http://laughingsquid.com/san-franciscos-answer-to-westboro-baptist-church/

 

My fave is the unicorn with the sign that says, "God hates ponies".

 

 

Those just made my day--how awesome.

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I attended a funeral for a soldier last year. The church was about 3 miles from the interstate. The Patriot Guard lined the approach to the church - a solid wall of motorcycles and Patriots holding flags so the family would only see their son being honored. Phelps was relegated to an empty lot 3 blocks behind the church where no one would see him unless they chose to. The local news mentioned he was there but didn't show any pictures of them - only pictures of the American flags lining the roadway.

 

Maybe I'll grow up and be a Patriot Guard someday.

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