Westboro Baptist Church to Picket Funeral of 9-Year-Old Tucson Shooting Victim
posted at 4:56 pm on January 9, 2011 by Howard Portnoy
Speaking of hatred that knows no bounds or party affiliation, the Westboro Baptist Church, famous for picketing the funerals of slain members of the American military, has announced plans to disrupt the funeral of the youngest of yesterday’s shooting victims, 9-year-old Christina Greene.
The child was among the six fatalities that resulted from a shooting spree in Tucson by Jared Lee Loughner that left Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords hospitalized with a brain injury. Christina, who was the granddaughter of former Philadelphia Phillies manager Dallas Green, had just been elected to the student council at school. She wanted to attend the event to see real government in action.
Westboro’s founder, Fred Phelps has run in several Kansas Democratic Party primaries, but has never won. In his most successful bid, as a candidate for the U.S. Senate in 1992, he received 31 percent of the vote.
Phelps was an enormous supporter of Al Gore 1988 Democratic Party primary election and in 2003 wrote a letter to Saddam Hussein, praising his regime for being
the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets.
Phelps’s most recent funeral disruption was of Elizabeth Edwards last month, but somehow picketing the funeral of a child is an act that causes even the staunchest defender of freedom of speech to question the law’s boundaries.
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Cross-posted at the Examiner. Follow me on Twitter or join me at Facebook. You can reach me at howard.portnoy@gmail.com or by posting a comment below.
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Just when you thought they’ve reached the highest peak of disgusting behavior…
Tuari on January 9, 2011 at 5:37 PM
These creatures are pure evil.
rbj on January 9, 2011 at 5:47 PM
Where did you get this information about Wesboro Baptist? The post of yours that you linked to doesn’t mention them, and you don’t provide any other source for it.
Steven Den Beste on January 9, 2011 at 6:54 PM
Steven Den Beste@6:54,
You might want to check this out.
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/westboro-baptists-vow-to-picket-funerals-of-az-shooting-victims/
L
letget on January 9, 2011 at 7:44 PM
Steven,
My apologies. I meant to include the video link that appeared in my cross-posted article (http://www.examiner.com/libertarian-in-national/westboro-baptist-church-to-picket-funeral-of-9-year-old-tucson-shooting-victim).
I believe it’s the same video you will find at the link letget references.
Howard Portnoy on January 9, 2011 at 8:10 PM
As a piece of performance art, I admire the Westboro Baptist Church’s plan to be the most hated people in America. They far surpass the efforts of graduates from our most prestigious art schools.
thuja on January 9, 2011 at 8:54 PM
Words are insufficient to convey the loathing I feel for these people.
Further commentary would probably merit a ban, but yeah. Free speech… right… not feeling it…
KinleyArdal on January 9, 2011 at 9:27 PM
You would think, again, I say this often, you would think that we, as a species, could band together in defense of our children (abortion) and grieving for kids lost to the wanton slaughter of madmen (Christina Greene), but apparently, even that is too much to ask.
The Lord they pretend to serve will judge them harshly. I would not want to be them when they have to face the King and explain why they threw a sneering party at a little girl’s funeral.
I feel like I should add on to that, but I can’t find any words that seem right. Totally at a loss.
Wicked beyond understanding.
KinleyArdal on January 9, 2011 at 9:30 PM
If you find it pertinent to mention this you might want to include the fact that they picketed his father’s funeral too.
lexhamfox on January 9, 2011 at 10:06 PM
Deranged pigs.
Connie on January 10, 2011 at 1:19 AM
Are you a supporter of Phelps?
Connie on January 10, 2011 at 1:20 AM
that would not be likely.
audiculous on January 10, 2011 at 1:51 AM
These people might be in for a rude “awakening” upon their much anticipated day of judgement . . .
tpitman on January 10, 2011 at 5:29 AM
A**holes. That is all.
mjk on January 10, 2011 at 8:12 AM
IIRC, Phelps “church” is composed solely of his extended family. Very heavily composed of lawyers. I believe that they make a lot of money for suing people for their responses to these provocations.
LarryD on January 10, 2011 at 10:58 AM
Where’s the outcry against Westboro’s “incendiary” speech? Phelps and his group are just left wing nutjobs who enjoy stirring the pot and getting their names in the paper. Judgment Day will be something else for these folks.
College Prof on January 10, 2011 at 1:09 PM
nah, bud, they’re Baptist nutjobs.
audiculous on January 10, 2011 at 3:08 PM
What is it with libs being so repugnant?
AH_C on January 10, 2011 at 3:46 PM
so you think that Saddam was a lib? because he didn’t repress the Christians?
audiculous on January 10, 2011 at 6:50 PM
I think that this has crossed the line of religion and politics. Hit these guys where it really hurts. Take away their tax exempt status and when they don’t have any money, then they might rethink their actions a bit.
DAT60A3 on January 10, 2011 at 10:27 PM
While I nod my head in complete agreement with anything nasty said about these aholes, that stops when people want to silence them.
Because someday what I say or do may become a target too.
Those kind souls that volunteer to arrive early and provide ‘blocking’ from the WBC deserve the highest praise. So does that entire town that refused to fix one of their flats for them.
GnuBreed on January 11, 2011 at 1:17 AM
Our small town had a soldier die in Afganistan and the WBC came to our town to protest at his funeral. Our community and others around came together and formed a human circle around the church several people deep. The Patriot Guard Riders were also there in full force. They surrounded the funeral procession to guard it from anything Westoboro might attempt along the way or after they arrived at the cemetary. Westboro gave up and went home without doing the protest. I feel that surely the citizens of Tuscan will do the same for this little girl’s family.
Another point is that if this group affliated themselves with the Republican party every media story would start with the words, “The Republican hate group known as Westboro Baptist Church…”
conservativemama on January 11, 2011 at 8:19 AM
Now that’s interesting, I’ve read about these guys many times, seen documentaries et cetera, but Phelps senate bid on a Democratic ticket is news to me. Shurely that would also have been the case if Phelps was a former Republican senate candidate…
NORUK on January 11, 2011 at 11:44 AM
If you’ll remember, these were the same ghouls who were going to protest at the funerals of the Amish girls who were executed in 2006 (http://tinyurl.com/gq65a ). I remember especially the story that one of the older girls offered herself first hoping the madman would run out of ammunition and spare the younger girls.
Fred Phepls and his ilk are extremely sick and pervert the name of Jesus.
Amendment X on January 11, 2011 at 12:31 PM