So, it shouldn't surprise me what these psycho nuggets do anymore. But seriously? This seems completely repugnant even for them.
Kansas Church Plans Protest Before Funeral
By Jessie Halladay
jhalladay@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
A church group from Kansas that has protested at soldiers' funerals around the country plans to go to Bardstown to picket before the funeral for the 10 people killed in a house fire Tuesday.
The group from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka plans to demonstrate 45 minutes prior to the funeral in order to show that their deaths are God's punishment for a "filthy" nation that has disobeyed "His will," said Shirley Phelps-Roper, a member of the church.
A date for the funeral had not been set by the family of the fire victims as of yesterday.
The Rev. Louis Coleman, who spent part of yesterday with the Maddox and Litsey families as they grieved, said it is ridiculous for this group to protest in Bardstown.
"That's terribly disrespectful to this family and to the community at large," said Coleman, a Louisville activist.
Westboro members have traveled the country staging the pickets -- holding signs that include such messages as "America is doomed" and "Thank God for 9/11."
"Our job is to cause America to know its abominations," Phelps-Roper said, adding that deaths such as those in Bardstown are punishment for a country that tolerates ****sexuality.
Last year, Kentucky's legislature passed a law that banned protests at military and other funerals. But a federal judge has barred the law from being enforced, saying that it appears to go too far in limiting free speech.
The Rev. Michael Smith, pastor of the First Baptist Church in Bardstown, said he was sure the family would not appreciate the protest during their time of grief.
"Everybody needs that time and should have the time for grieving," Smith said. "It's really going to be difficult."
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