Cool/Not Cool

Cool that these people have formed this group to help protect the families of fallen soldiers from these lunatics -- not cool because they have to. These people hate homosexuals so much, they manage to work their hatred of us into everything around them.


(Fort Campbell, Kentucky) Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier's funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.

They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.

Phelps believes American deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs -- explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.

The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters, and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags.

"The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."

At least 14 states, including Oklahoma, are considering laws aimed at the funeral protesters, who at a recent memorial service at Fort Campbell wrapped themselves in upside-down American flags. They danced and sang impromptu songs peppered with vulgarities that condemned homosexuals and soldiers.

The Patriot Guard was also there, waving up a ruckus of support for the families across the street. Community members came in the freezing rain to chant "U-S-A, U-S-A" alongside them.

"This is just the right thing to do. This is something America didn't do in the '70s," said Kurt Mayer, the group's national spokesman. "Whether we agree with why we're over there, these soldiers are dying to protect our freedoms."

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps and an attorney for the Topeka, Kan.-based church, said neither state laws nor the Patriot Guard can silence their message that God killed the soldiers because they fought for a country "that embraces homosexuals."

"The scriptures are crystal clear that when God sets out to punish a nation, it is with the sword. An IED is just a broken-up sword," Phelps-Roper said. "Since that is his weapon of choice, our forum of choice has got to be a dead soldier's funeral."

The church, Westboro Baptist Church, is not affiliated with a larger denomination and is made up mostly of Fred Phelps' extended family members.

During the 1990s, church members were known mostly for picketing the funerals of AIDS victims, and they have long been tracked as a hate group by the Montgomery, Ala.-based Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project.

The project's deputy director, Heidi Beirich, said other groups have tried to counter Phelps' message, but none has been as organized as the Patriot Guard.

"I'm not sure anybody has gone to this length to stand in solidarity," she said. "It's nice that these veterans and their supporters are trying to do something. I can't imagine anything worse, your loved one is killed in Iraq and you've got to deal with Fred Phelps."

Kentucky, home to sprawling Fort Campbell along the Tennessee line, was among the first states to attempt to deal with Phelps legislatively. Its House and Senate have each passed bills that would limit people from protesting within 300 feet of a funeral or memorial service. The Senate version would also keep protesters from being within earshot of grieving friends and family members.

Richard Wilbur, a retired police detective, said his Indiana Patriot Guard group only comes to funerals if invited by family. He said he has no problem with protests against the war but sees no place for objectors at a family's final goodbye to a soldier.

"No one deserves this," he said.

News Tidbits

(Rochester, New York) A Rochester, New York pastor has been charged with violating her covenant as a Presbyterian minister for performing marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples.
The Reverend Doctor Jane Adams Spahr is accused of marrying two lesbian couples in violation of Presbyterian Church rules.

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(Ashville, North Carolina) The Rev. Joe Hoffman stood before his congregation at Ashville's First Congregational United Church of Christ on Sunday and announced he would not sign marriage certificates until same-ex couples receive marriage equality in North Carolina.

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Excellent editorial in the Sunday New York Times.

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I recently saw a comment on another blog indicating a lack of understanding why gays would want the courts to decide the DISSOLUTION of their partnering because of all the fightin' and fussin' involved in a divorce.

What a narrow view this person has. He apparently feels that all same-sex relationships will turn out as badly as 50% of heterosexual relationships, yet he doesn't understand the concept of protecting our families through marriage, the same way his own is protected. He doesn't seem to want to understand that there are same-sex couples out there that have been together for decades -- longer than "traditional" heterosexual relationships -- yet, if/when one of them dies, the survivor stands to lose all that they've built together.

He totally misses the point. It's not that we want the courts involved in our relationships in any way, shape or form. We just want the legal right to make the same BAD choices that he has.