Phelps' church, ACLU challenge Missouri protest ban

[Terri]

AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A Kansas church group that routinely protests at military funerals across the country filed a suit in federal court Friday, claiming the Missouri law banning such pickets infringed on the members' religious freedoms and right to free speech.

Missouri's law bans picketing and protests "in front of or about" any church, cemetery or funeral establishment from an hour before a funeral begins until an hour after it ends. A number of other state laws and a federal law, signed in May by President Bush, bar such protests within a certain distance from a cemetery or funeral.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jefferson City. It will test lawmakers' ability to target the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church, constitutional scholars say.

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[lpara]

Not withstanding that Phelp's church has no resemblance to a real church, isn't the ACLU losing it's marbles? Surely they don't want to defend anything that has the word "church" attached to it? What could they be thinking?



Oh, yes--it's their liberal philosophy on pacifism that trumps even religiosity.

[Charie]

Laurie, I think the ACLU is taking the case because this nutcase and his merrie band of crazies are supposedly Christians

Makes Christians (lowdown rotten creeps) look really bad donchaknow!

I apologize for my language, but sometimes I can hardly stand it!!

[azwhitewolf]

Great.

No sense in letting a high school student say the word Christ or Jesus without "censoring Free Speech", but now the ACLU welcomes Fred Phelps!

Well, the ACLU and Fred Phelps deserve each other.

When the ACLU decides not to cater to the demands of Fred, I wonder what they'll think of his 13 kids, all lawyers, challenging the ACLU for control?

That would be absolutely..... wonderfully...


Call me crazy, but I think all the gay members of the ACLU are going to reconsider their spending decision. Some of the websites out there aren't championing the ACLU like they used to.

And oddly enough, Phelp's ACLU "flyer" - the one that calls them f@g-enablers and doomed by God, is astonishinly GONE off the website!

A number of other state laws and a federal law, signed in May by President Bush, bar such protests within a certain distance from a cemetery or funeral.

I'm surprised that idiot Phelps didn't say, "OK" and start picketing weddings, calling people names and accusing them of being "doomed" on their happiest day.

There were a million things Phelps could have done to continue his Ministry of Nuisance And Asshattery, but he has to fight for this?

Yes, Fred, we have a law that targets YOU, because no other moron, including insane asylum residents, cast members of Jackass The Movie, or even death row convicts, are stupid, insensitive or crazy enough to PICKET A FUNERAL. And who could have possibly thought that someone would, thus, necessitating a LAW PROHIBITING IT?

[Bigdog]

Well, the ACLU and Fred Phelps deserve each other.

Agreed. But the rest of us don't deserve either of them.

Now, if we could just get both groups into a meeting somewhere and then declare it a free fire zone...

[Rose St. Louis]

Talk about your strange bedfellows! These two rotten agendas deserve each other, indeed.

[Cheesecake]

Hmmmm.......

Here is Missouri, Phelps might find more opposition than he even suspects.

btw......why isn't the ACLU defending my rights to NOT have his interference?

IMHO he is an athiest parading in church clothing.........wha t a putz.

[Bones]

I (along with 40 some thousand other like minded citizens) belong to an organization called the “Patriot Guard Riders” (www.partionguard.org ). Part of the mission of this organization is to show our respect to these fallen soldiers by attending these funerals and shielding the families and friends from these insensitive idiots.

Phelps and the ACLU can talk about free speech all they want. I prefer to express myself by trying to prevent their message from being heard.

[Cheesecake]

Thank you Bones.
I know one of your ''riders'' from Branson MO.

[TheReligiousRight]

Alright, let me get this straight--

For the ACLU to be in SUPPORT of a church group has to be so absolutely nuts, so anti-military, that it even trumps the ACLU's need to defend gays and oppress Christians?

And what in the world is an organization who despises gays doing in bed with the ACLU?

Wow. Loonies sure don't stand on principle, do they?