Defending the Right to Hate (Part 2)

Several months ago I wrote a column in which I defended the right of Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church to stage protests at the funeral sites of soldiers killed in the Global War on Terror. Despite many legal efforts to restrict these demonstrations, Phelps and his flock continue to rally at the graves of our war dead. And now the tiny Kansas church is getting help from the ACLU.

Phelps and his flock first gained national notoriety when they began showing up at military funerals waving signs that read “God Hates Fags” and “America is Doomed.” The basic sermon goes something like this: because America tolerates homosexuality, God is offended and is killing off the young men and women of our military as punishment for our sins.

Phelps preaches a radical, fire-and-brimstone message that twists scripture to suit his agenda. He viciously attacks the families of fallen soldiers and desecrates their memories when they are most vulnerable. And he makes no apologies for what he is doing.

In response to overwhelming public discontent for Phelps’ tactics, 29 states and the U.S. Congress passed laws designed to prevent people like Phelps from disrupting military funerals. This past Memorial Day, President Bush signed into law the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act, prohibiting demonstrations within a certain distance of national cemeteries.

Private groups like the Patriot Guard Riders stage their own counter-protests to provide a buffer between Phelps and the soldiers’ families. These groups generally keep their demonstrations low-key and just try to shield the grieving loved ones from the hate-filled rhetoric of the Westboro Baptist Church. The Patriot Guard has received overwhelming support and its 50,000-plus members travel the country to match Phelps protest for protest.