Westboro Baptist Church to Protest Funeral Services for Heath Ledger

Apparently, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church has formed plans to protest the funeral of Heath Ledger, due to his role in Brokeback Mountain. While the majority of Americans are surprised about this declaration of intent coming from the members of the Westboro cult, I'm not.

Two years ago, in January 2006, I heard of a planned protest by the Westboro Baptist Church in my town of Evansville, Indiana, for a young soldier recently killed in Iraq named PFC Jonathan Pfender. Since I am the daughter of a permanently disabled Vietnam combat veteran and Purple Heart recipient, and also a military member and a military spouse, the actions of this 'church' cut me to the heart. So, when I found the Patriot Guard Riders online, and saw that they planned to stand between PFC Pfender's family and the Westboro cult, I signed up immediately. I then attended the mission for PFC Pfender and helped shield his family from the members of the WBC.

Signing up with the Patriot Guard Riders was one of the best things I have ever done. After the mission for PFC Pfender, I have been blessed to be able to participate in over 30 missions in the last two years, when real-life and my military duties permit me to do so. In addition to funeral missions, I have participated in send-off missions for those service members deploying overseas, and welcome-home missions for returning service members.