Westboro: We Won't Picket 9-Year-Old's Funeral

[RamboLiberal]

Source: CBS News/AP

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In exchange for getting some radio time to air their controversial views, the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., has abandoned plans to picket 9-year-old Tucson shooting victim Christina Tayler Green's funeral.

Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka first told the Topeka Capital-Journal that church members will skip Green's Thursday funeral in Tucson.

Phelps-Roper says the church has been given airtime with 102.1 The Edge in Toronto, Canada, and an interview with KXXT-AM in Phoenix, Ariz. on Saturday morning.

The church's past protests, which have included picketing military funerals, have been highlighted by ardent anti-gay rhetoric - blaming the country's troubles on its acceptance of homosexuality.



Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/12/national/main7239253.shtml?tag=stack

[tridim]

1. Aww, isn't that sweet.

:puke:

Lemme guess, KXXT-AM is the local hate radio station?

[me b zola]

16. Still, it is a better move than Palin could muster

Palin--worse than the Fred Phelps bigot

[regnaD kciN]

48. No, Palin isn't worse than "Reverend" Phelps...

Read "Addicted To Hate," the story of the Phelps family that is easily found on the net, despite his attempts to have it suppressed. Truly horrifying.

[sweetloukillbot]

30. Used to be Air America actually.

I don't remember how it went down exactly - I'm sure there are others on DU who know the gory details, but it got abruptly sold or something and changed to a Christian station, despite having some of the highest AA ratings in the country IIRC.

[derby378]

36. Seems to be following a pattern

Our first attempt at an Air America affiliate in Dallas got changed into a Catholic radio station, too.

[BeFree]

2. Hmmm

I wonder... what are the phone numbers for those radio stations?

Would they mind if I called and told them what I think?

[mbperrin]

9. Here ya go!

http://www.familyvaluesradio.net/


www.edge102.com

[LynneSin]

12. Wow they call themselves 'family values radio'

but then again they are preventing these assholes from adding to the horror of that young girl being murdered

[warrior1]

3. these haters

are still going to burn in hell of their own making.

[Ian David]

4. They're probably just snowed-in somewhere. n/t

[tomm2thumbs]

15. exactly right - and they didn't want to lose face that God had somehow snowed them in

you said it just right

[oldhippydude]

31. i have wondered for a while now

how they manage to hop around the country.. just the cost of gasoline, and travel could be considerable... not to mention the cost of replacing tires..

[tomm2thumbs]

39. lol at 'replacing tires'

that's a good question - no doubt funded by the Left

<g>

[YvonneCa]

34. No. Arizona legislature passed a law...

...yesterday: http://www.azsenatedemocrats.com/2011/01/legislators-release-bipartisan.html

[slackmaster]

5. That's real white of them

:eyes:

[deutsey]

6. And here I thought maybe they had a sudden outbreak of conscience

at Westboro when it was all just about using the girl's death to leverage free airtime.

:evilfrown:

[digitaln3rd]

7. Edge?

Somehow I feel that that is not going to go well for Westboro. I'd say Roper is in for a rude awakening.

They're not exactly friendly towards them! :X

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. My guess is they are scared that someone might flip out on them and start

shooting into their own little crowd.

[sarge43]

10. Or they're scared of Sheriff Dupnik.

You know he's praying one of them would put a toe over the 300 yard cut off line and he'll be on them like ugly on an ape. He has state law on his side now.

[Gormy Cuss]

11. Or that they'd be arrested after the legislature passes the new bill

and The Phelps clan would lose in court, thus opening the doors for the other 49 states to pass similar laws barring protests within 300 feet of a funeral.

[pezDispenser]

13. 3 cheers for legislating away free speech!

Thanks AZ!

[Super Bobo]

14. Slippery

It is a slippery slope. It feels good to keep those nut jobs away from the funeral though.

[AlbertCat]

22. It is a slippery slope.

No it's not.
They can still say whatever they want. (obviously)

Just 300 ft from a funeral.


Much less slippery than "Free Speech Zones" for political events.

[No Elephants]

41. +1

[mbperrin]

18. I can do without reviling a 9 year old with the message that God hates

her. Can't yell fire in a crowded theater, either. I have to stay in a free speech zone when I want to criticize the Bush* assholes, so the idea that they have to stay a block away doesn't worry me in the least.

I know there is no God, because for years I have prayed for him to put a lightning bolt through these parasites who produce nothing, shit on others, and live off court proceeds extorted from the victims and reap the benefits of tax-free living.

Why in the world the children's protective services have not removed the children from their compound, I cannot guess.

[denverbill]

19. It's a shame that common decency has to be legislated.

There is no reason anyone needs to protest at someone's funeral. Not a murdered little girl, not a dead soldier, not Matthew Shepherd. Not even Dick Cheney or Pat Robertson or Limbaugh, when they kick the bucket.

Frankly, I think anyone that objects to protecting the families of the recently deceased in the name of protecting free speech is just plain wrong. I have no doubt that the Founding Fathers, had they been confronted with the need to prevent assholes from disrupting funerals, would have had no problem with a law like this.

[Gormy Cuss]

37. You can't yell "Fire!" in a crowded movie theater, proving that the courts set some limits

on speech. I do think the Phelps clan are afraid that the Roberts court would uphold such a law.

[pezDispenser]

42. you can't falsely yell fire. you can yell fire if there is a fire.

big difference.

[Gormy Cuss]

47. Why yes, that's understood.

It's merely an example of a limit set based on inciting, and with this court I wouldn't be surprised to see the conservative judges uphold limits based on distance from the funeral. After all, there were the "Free Speech" cages a few years back.

[No Elephants]

40. Research Supreme Court cases on speech protected by the 1st Amend. vs unprotected speech.

[pezDispenser]

43. You could argue free speech

and you could argue bill of attainder.

[Hassin Bin Sober]

50. You could look up bill of attainder and realize it's not what you think it is.

[Liberal_in_LA]

17. wow..they have some boundaries

[freshwest]

51. Nah, they've got lawyers in the family and they knew AZ had just passed a law against it.

If they had any boundaries, they'd stop mocking the families of the slain elsewhere. They didn't make a trade because they knew they couldn't do the protest. They'd have been arrested this time.

It's disturbing that the station invited them on. Now they'll now be seen as mainstream because they were allowed this venue to speak.

On the down side, they'll bring this country to the worst form of religious fascism and oppression since the Inquisition;

And make people so sick of freedom of speech no one will object to not being allowed to protest the meme. They and the Tea Party have made expressing an opinion seem hateful to average folks.

On the bright side, people may reject all religions that lead to people feeling they have a god-given right to abuse others.

[yellowcanine]

20. Is Fred Phelps developing a sense of shame? Is it possible?

[sarge43]

21. No. A conscience and a soul is required in order to have a sense of shame.

Anyone who threatens to disrupt a murdered nine year old's funeral has neither.

[yellowcanine]

29. You are probably correct. The motivation is probably fear of violence against him.

Phelps must know that sooner or later a nut job might decide to go after the Phelps gang.

[JI7]

35. no,he did it in exchange for some radio time or other shit. where he gets attention

and put out his bs.

i was thinking maybe they did have limits but it said he only cancelled in exchange for getting some media time.

[yellowcanine]

38. Yeah I know that is what he said but I also think he is probably scared as well.

In addition to being a publicity hound, Fred Phelps is a bully. Bullies are inherent cowards who will look for reasons to maintain their "face" while reducing the risk of bodily harm.

[dogfacedboy]

23. I KNEW THEY WERE COWARDS!

[uncle ray]

24. the morning show interview ought to be a riot.

hopefully shirley phelps does the interview, she never fails to bring comedy gold.

[ChazII]

45. I think she will be the one

on Michael Gallagher's show. He is giving them air time to prevent them from protesting at all of the funerals, too.

[sam sarrha]

25. they recently went to a Soldier Funeral an got their curb side tires slashed, no station would help

them fix the flats.... they got off easy.. i was thinking a bucket of rancid piss would be appropriate to see if they'd turn the other cheek..

[apnu]

26. What do you know... they're running an extortion racket.

color me surprised... not!

[Uncle Joe]

27. With a title like that, they should write for Hallmark.

:puke:

Thanks for the thread, RamboLiberal.

[DeSwiss]

28. Well.....

...all's forgiven then. This'll really put a feather in your cap, Westboro. :sarcasm:

- Considering their lack of gun concealed gun restrictions there, it'll be interesting to see if they make it out of Arizona.....

K&R

[wtmusic]

32. Sometimes you have to deal with the devil.

I can think of very few instances where letting these nuts ransom airtime is justifiable, but this is probably one of them.

[JI7]

33. " In exchange for getting some radio time "

[Arkana]

44. Oh, REALLY?

Well, I suppose we should just get down on bended knee to thank them.

There's a special place in hell for the Phelps family.

[proud2BlibKansan]

46. Proof they are just publicity hounds

Which is what many of us in Kansas have said all along.

[NikRik]

49. What kind of person would protest at funeral ?

Are some peoples mindes so worped that they would take the funeral for a 9 year old child and use it for whatever politicial standing they may have.I think its sickening that they would use this funeral a time for loved ones to grieve over the violent loss of a nine year old girl!No matter what age the funeral for a person isI believe this is stepping over the line and shows a real lack of compassion on the part of anyone that would consider doing this !

[Youth Uprising]

52. What a bunch of scumbags...

Glad they decided not to protest.