[xerxes]

$1:

Controversial Church to picket Marine's funeral

A fringe Kansas church that claims Americans soldiers deserve to die in Iraq because the church was the target of a bombing attempt plans to demonstrate at the funeral of a Moorhead soldier.

Sgt. Bryan Opskar was killed on July 23 when a roadside bomb exploded. A military spokesman says the 32-year-old Marine was conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.

Ten members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas, plan to picket for 30 minutes before Opskar's funeral in Moorhead on Tuesday, said Shirley Phelps-Roper, church attorney and daughter of church minister Fred Phelps.

The church operates at least two Web sites — godHatesAmerica.com and GodHatesFags.com — and links soldiers' deaths in Iraq to a bomb that exploded on its compound in 1995.

A news release from the church says Opskar was killed by "by an IED (improvised explosive devices), like the IED America used to bomb our church, in a terroristic attempt to stop WBC's anti-gay preaching."

"We may be pardoned for seeing a direct correlation between the Improvised Explosive Devices killing American kids in Iraq and the IED that nearly killed a sleeping Westboro baby August 20th 1995," the release said.

Phelps-Roper said the group pickets only public funerals where the military promotes the war and downplays the situation in Iraq.

The funeral of Opskar, of the 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran Church. ( Online guestbook for Opskar)

The Moorhead Police Department will send more officers to Opskar's funeral to prevent any conflict between the mourners and the picketers, said police Sgt. Chris Carey. Police also will videotape the picketing, he said.

Carey also advised mourners to ignore the picketers.

"If somebody was to address the West Baptist Church, they're playing right into what they would like," he said. "The best thing to do is ignore the message they're sending. They're an extremely small minority from the United States that feels that way."

In 1998, the church picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose murder sparked a national outcry for hate-crimes legislation. Phelps has gained national attention staging protests -- and threatening to stage protests -- at funerals and other public events. He has appeared in Minnesota before.

More recently, the group carried signs that read "America is Doomed" and "God Hates Fags" at a soldier's funeral in Oklahoma last week. A statement on the group's Web site GodHatesAmerica.com explains the church's position:

Thank God for IEDs killing American soldiers in strange lands every day.
WBC rejoices every time the Lord God in His vengeance kills or maims an American soldier with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Ps. 58:10).
This nation bombed and raided the Westboro Baptist Church, and now the Holy God that Inhabits Eternity is repaying those heinous acts with His retaliatory wrath; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19).
To most effectively cause America to know her abominations (Ez. 16:2), WBC will picket the funerals of these Godless, fag army American soldiers when their pieces return home. WBC will also picket their landing spot, in Dover, Delaware early and often.



On Thursday, services will be held for Opskar in Princeton, where he grew up.

Talk about a persecution complex!

[CaptainDodd]

Sheesh.. what can we say.. Where as across the border, Canadian's are embrassing people of that orientation (most of us)

Meanwhile, i remain pretty much neutral on the subject

[Robair]

CaptainDodd CaptainDodd:

Sheesh.. what can we say.. Where as across the border, Canadian's are embrassing people of that orientation (most of us)

Care to explain that statement?

[xerxes]

Robair Robair:

CaptainDodd CaptainDodd:

Sheesh.. what can we say.. Where as across the border, Canadian's are embrassing people of that orientation (most of us)

Care to explain that statement?

Please. It doesn't get more cryptic than that.

[Thematic-Device]

I think he was referring to the anti-homosexual nature of church

[Robair]

Thematic-Device Thematic-Device:

I think he was referring to the anti-homosexual nature of church

I think we should let the Capton explain what he was referring to when he compared Canadians everywhere to some wacko southern baptist.

You know, before we jump to conclusions... ...

[CaptainDodd]

lily lily:

I thought he meant "embarrassing" at first, but if you read the post it looks like he meant "embracing", as in we've legalized SSMs.

my bad.. early in the morning.. i did mean embracing..

I meant in Canada, at the moment, Same-Sex marrages have recently become legal, and for the most part, that doesn't bother most canadians.. Whereas in the states, this kind of stuff appears...

[Robair]

lily lily:

I thought he meant "embarrassing" at first, but if you read the post it looks like he meant "embracing", as in we've legalized SSMs.

Ooooooh, that could be... I was under the impression he meant we are embracing people of the same views as this church. You know, that cheer when American soldiers get killed... ...I was getting ready to jump down his throat.

[themasta]

I think everyone should go grab a cup o' java before we have any more misunderstandings.

[CaptainDodd]

Aye, i didn't mean that at all.. wow.. good thing we got that cleared up..

I suppose it is my fault for being so vague.. No harm done tho eh?

[Patrick_Ross]

xerxes xerxes:

$1:

Controversial Church to picket Marine's funeral

A fringe Kansas church that claims Americans soldiers deserve to die in Iraq because the church was the target of a bombing attempt plans to demonstrate at the funeral of a Moorhead soldier.

Sgt. Bryan Opskar was killed on July 23 when a roadside bomb exploded. A military spokesman says the 32-year-old Marine was conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.

Ten members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) of Topeka, Kansas, plan to picket for 30 minutes before Opskar's funeral in Moorhead on Tuesday, said Shirley Phelps-Roper, church attorney and daughter of church minister Fred Phelps.

The church operates at least two Web sites — godHatesAmerica.com and GodHatesFags.com — and links soldiers' deaths in Iraq to a bomb that exploded on its compound in 1995.

A news release from the church says Opskar was killed by "by an IED (improvised explosive devices), like the IED America used to bomb our church, in a terroristic attempt to stop WBC's anti-gay preaching."

"We may be pardoned for seeing a direct correlation between the Improvised Explosive Devices killing American kids in Iraq and the IED that nearly killed a sleeping Westboro baby August 20th 1995," the release said.

Phelps-Roper said the group pickets only public funerals where the military promotes the war and downplays the situation in Iraq.

The funeral of Opskar, of the 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., is scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran Church. ( Online guestbook for Opskar)

The Moorhead Police Department will send more officers to Opskar's funeral to prevent any conflict between the mourners and the picketers, said police Sgt. Chris Carey. Police also will videotape the picketing, he said.

Carey also advised mourners to ignore the picketers.

"If somebody was to address the West Baptist Church, they're playing right into what they would like," he said. "The best thing to do is ignore the message they're sending. They're an extremely small minority from the United States that feels that way."

In 1998, the church picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose murder sparked a national outcry for hate-crimes legislation. Phelps has gained national attention staging protests -- and threatening to stage protests -- at funerals and other public events. He has appeared in Minnesota before.

More recently, the group carried signs that read "America is Doomed" and "God Hates Fags" at a soldier's funeral in Oklahoma last week. A statement on the group's Web site GodHatesAmerica.com explains the church's position:

Thank God for IEDs killing American soldiers in strange lands every day.
WBC rejoices every time the Lord God in His vengeance kills or maims an American soldier with an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). "The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked" (Ps. 58:10).
This nation bombed and raided the Westboro Baptist Church, and now the Holy God that Inhabits Eternity is repaying those heinous acts with His retaliatory wrath; "Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord" (Rom. 12:19).
To most effectively cause America to know her abominations (Ez. 16:2), WBC will picket the funerals of these Godless, fag army American soldiers when their pieces return home. WBC will also picket their landing spot, in Dover, Delaware early and often.

On Thursday, services will be held for Opskar in Princeton, where he grew up.

Talk about a persecution complex!

This really disgusts me. What a horrifible bunch of people.

...This is a big part of the problem with religion -- people who are lookin to do terrible things who find moral empowerment. I'd say they don't deserve any police protection at this funeral. Let the soldier's family do as they will.

[xerxes]

CaptainDodd CaptainDodd:

Aye, i didn't mean that at all.. wow.. good thing we got that cleared up..

I suppose it is my fault for being so vague.. No harm done tho eh?

All is forgiven.

[xerxes]

Patrick Patrick:

This really disgusts me. What a horrifible bunch of people.

...This is a big part of the problem with religion -- people who are lookin to do terrible things who find moral empowerment. I'd say they don't deserve any police protection at this funeral. Let the soldier's family do as they will.

Agreed. Those goons better hope none of his soldier friends show up for his funeral. To quote John Wayne, they might get accidentally shot.

[Streaker]

Phelps' "God hates America" angle is news to me; I already knew about the homophobia.

Picketing a Marine's funeral as part of their crusade against "fags"?!? Totally bananas!

[Patrick_Ross]

One thing I'm uncertain about is whether or not the www.Gothatesamerica.com website, and its sister sites (including www.gothatesCanada.com) are serious, or satirical.