Westboro Baptist Church ( WBC ) is an American church renowned for its use of hate speech, especially against LGBT people (homophobia and transphobia), Catholic (anti-Catholic), Orthodox Christian (anti-Orthodox), Muslim (Islamophobia), Jewish (antisemitism), Romani (antiziganisme), and US soldiers and politicians (anti-Americanism). It is widely known as a group of hatred and monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and the Center for Southern Poverty Law. The Church has been involved in acts against gay people since at least 1991, when he sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to anti-gay protests at military cemeteries, organizations capture celebrity funerals and public events. Protests have also been made against Jews and Catholics, and some protests have included members of the WBC stepping on the American flag or raising the flag in reverse at the flagpole. The Church has also made statements such as "thank God for dead soldiers," "God blew up troops," "alhamdulillah for 9/11," and "God hates America." The Church has faced several allegations of brainwashing and has been criticized for being a sect.
The church is headquartered in a residential neighborhood on the western side of Topeka about 3 miles (5 km) west of the Kansas State Capitol. His first public service was held on the afternoon of November 27, 1955. The church was led by Fred Phelps before his death in March 2014, although church representatives said the church had no clear leader for some time before his death. The church mainly consists of members of the extended family of Phelps, and in 2011, the church declared that they had about 40 members.
The WBC is not affiliated with the Baptist denomination, though it describes itself as a Primitive Baptist and follows the five points of Calvinism. Many other Baptist churches, Baptist seminaries, and Baptist conventions, including the Baptist World Alliance and the Southern Baptist Convention (the two largest Baptist denominations), have denounced the WBC for years. In addition, other mainstream Christian denominations have condemned Westboro Baptist action.
Video Westboro Baptist Church
History
The Westboro Baptist Church originated as a branch of the East Side Baptist Church, founded in 1931 on the eastern side of Topeka. In 1954, East Side hired Fred Phelps as an associate minister, and later promoted it to the pastor of their new church plant, Westboro Baptist, which opened in 1955 on the western side of Topeka. As soon as Westboro was founded, Phelps broke with the East Side Baptist.
Westboro Baptist began selecting Gage Park in Topeka in 1991, saying it was a hive of anonymous homosexual activity. Soon, their protests spread throughout the city, and within three years the church traveled throughout the country. Phelps explained in 1994 that he considered a negative reaction to the precaution as a proof of its truth.
On August 20, 1995, a pipe bomb exploded outside the home of Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Fred Phelps. The blast damaged an SUV, fence, and part of the house, but no one was hurt. In 1996, two people were arrested for the bombing, and both claimed to cause the explosion. They believe that Phelps-Roper's house belongs to the pastor, and wants to take revenge against the Westboro anti-gay protest at Washburn University. One bomber was fined $ 1,751 and sentenced to 16 days in jail plus 100 hours of community service.
Fred Phelps died of natural causes just before midnight on March 19, 2014. His daughter Shirley said that the funeral for her father would not be held because Westboro was not "worshiping the dead".
Maps Westboro Baptist Church
Protest Activity
WBC capture about six locations every day, including many in Topeka and some further events. On Sundays, up to 15 churches can receive pickets. Based on their own calculations, the WBC has guarded all 50 US states.
The group takes daily precautions in Topeka and travel nationwide to take funerals of gay victims from murder, gay-bashing or people who die of AIDS-related complications; other events related or related to homosexuality; Kansas City Chiefs football game; and live pop concerts. In March 2009, the church claimed to have participated in more than 41,000 protests in more than 650 cities since 1991. One Westboro follower estimated that the church spent $ 250,000 a year on precautions.
The arrests have resulted in several lawsuits. In 1995, Phelps Sr.'s oldest grandson, Benjamin Phelps, was convicted of attacks and disorderly behavior after spitting on a pedestrian's face during picket. In the 1990s the church won a series of lawsuits against Topeka City and Shawnee County for the measures taken to prevent or impede the WBC's prevention, and was awarded approximately $ 200,000 in attorney fees and fees associated with litigation. In 2004, Phelps Sr.'s daughter Margie Phelps and Margie's son Jacob were arrested for offenses, disorderly conduct and failure to obey after ignoring a police officer's orders during the protest. In response to picketing at a funeral, Kansas passed a law prohibiting precautions at such events. In the fall of 2007, the father of a Marines whose funeral was escorted by the WBC earned $ 5 million in damages. The award was subsequently annulled at appeal by the Court of Appeal of the Fourth Circuit in a decision supported by the Supreme Court at Snyder v. Phelps . In June 2007 Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested in Nebraska and accused of contributing to juvenile delinquency. The arrest was due to him allowing his ten-year-old son to step on a US flag during a demonstration, which is illegal under Nebraska law. The defense argues that the child's actions are a protected speech, and that state laws are unconstitutional. Prosecutors claim the demonstration was not intended as a political speech, but as an incitement to violence, and that Phelps-Roper's behavior may also be child abuse. The prosecutor then dropped the charges against Phelps-Roper.
On two occasions, the church accepted an offer for the time of the radio broadcast in exchange for the annulment of the announced protest.
Anti-gay precautions
When filmed by filmmaker Louis Theroux, they bought a local appliance store for selling Swedish vacuum cleaners, whom the church deemed to support gay people for Sweden's prosecution of ÃÆ'â € | to Green, a pastor critical of homosexuality.
The Church has been imprisoned or threatened to harvest the results of The Laramie Project, a play based on the murder of Matthew Shepard (whose funeral they also chose).
On January 25, 2004, Phelps sent five churches (three Catholics and two Episcopalians) and a Federal Court to what he said was their part in legitimizing same-sex marriage in Iowa. The response of the public is to hold counter-protests and multi-faith services in the city auditorium. On January 15, 2006, Westboro members protested the warning for victims of the Sagu Mine disaster, claiming that the mining accident was God's retaliation against the United States for its tolerance of homosexuality.
The Westboro Baptist Church celebrated the 2016 terrorist attacks on Orlando's gay nightclub that resulted in forty-nine people killed and 54 others injured.
Funeral funeral
The group became the national spotlight in 1998, when it was featured on CNN to photograph the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a young man from Laramie, Wyoming who was beaten to death by two men, allegedly for his homosexuality. Since then, the church has caught the attention of many more actual and planned cemeteries.
In July 2005, Westboro Baptist Church declared its intention to incase Carrie French's funeral ceremony in Boise, Idaho. France, 19, was killed on June 5 in Kirkuk, Iraq, where he served as an ammunition specialist with the 145th Battalion of the 116th Standing Combat Brigade. Phelps Sr. said, "Our attitude to what happens with war is that God is punishing this wicked nation for abandoning all the moral necessities worth a dime."
In 2006, Westboro used banners reading "God hates homosexuals" and "Thank God for the dead soldiers" in Westminster, Maryland, the funeral of Matthew Snyder, a US Marine who was also killed in Iraq. Passing the next lawsuit filed by Snyder's father, Albert Snyder, US Supreme Court ruled, 8-1 in Snyder v. Phelps , that Westboro's actions constitute protected freedom of speech.
On February 2, 2008, the group attended the funeral of former president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Gordon B. Hinckley in Salt Lake City, Utah, who showed signs of picket who accused him of being a "false prophet who lied" and "Cause millions of people astray". The organization also criticized Hinckley for accepting gay men, accusing him of having an ambiguous voice about homosexuality rather than taking a firm stand against it. Police have difficulty determining whether demonstrations meet the guidelines of free speech.
Westboro guided the funeral of recording artist Michael Jackson after his death on June 25, 2009. Westboro members have also recorded a song called "God Hates the World", an adaptation of Jackson's charity single We Are the World.
In May 2010, Westboro guided the funeral of heavy metal vocalist Ronnie James Dio in Los Angeles, saying that they believed the singer worshiped Satan. Dio's widow urges the audience to ignore the protests, saying "Ronnie hates prejudice and violence.We need to change the other cheek to these people who only know how to hate someone they do not know.We only know how to love someone we know."
In January 2011, Westboro announced that they would sort out the funeral of Christina Green, a 9-year-old victim of the Tucson 2011 shooting in which Gabrielle Giffords (also non-fatal) Representative was shot. In response, Arizona's legislature passed an emergency law to ban protests within 300 feet (100 m) of a funeral, and Tucson residents made plans to protect the funerals from the protesters. The Church abandoned plans to hold a protest during a warning at the University of Arizona in exchange for broadcast time on radio talk shows. According to university officials, between 700 and 1,200 students gathered to fight the four WBC voters who appeared on campus after the event. Jael Phelps explained to Louis Theroux in an interview with the American Most Hated Family in Crisis that he and other members of the WBC were guarding at the funeral of the wife of a Muslim man simply because the man had watched and scolded them for deliberately burning a copy of the Quran in public ahead of the previous week.
On October 5, 2011, Fred Phelps's daughter, Margie, announced via her Twitter account that the church will be memetikan the founding funer of Apple Inc., Steve Jobs. CBS News and The Washington Post noted the irony in the fact that Margie used the iPhone to make tweets.
The Church announced on December 16, 2012, that it would be a precautionary at the funeral of the shooting victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
On April 15, 2013, the church posted a press release to his Twitter account which thanked God for the Boston Marathon bombing that day, and announced his plan to "sort out the funerals of the dead". Shows that the federal government classifies the bombing as a terrorist attack, but it is unclear whether it is "domestic or foreign realm", the release then claims answering the question with, "This is a hint - GOD SENDS BOMBS! How many more horrible ways will you have God injured and killed your fellow countrymen because you insisted on marrying the noble nobles? "Early the next morning, nearly 4,000 people had signed the We the People petition on the White House website asking for a ban on such demonstrations by the church at the funeral of the victim. Additionally, posts on the same day on Twitter accounts affiliated with the Anonymous hacktivist group hinted that Church leaders would be targeted if they made good on their threat to pluck the funeral.
On May 20, 2013, the church tweeted the praise of God over the Moore tornado of 2013 and that they would protest the funeral of the victims.
The group members intend to reap the funeral of actor Leonard Nimoy in March 2015 but can not find his location.
On June 18, 2016, church members took care of after the Orlando 2016 nightclub shoot which resulted in 50 deaths at a nightclub frequented by members of the Orlando LGBT community, but about 200 people blocked views on the precautions.
Protest against Jewish institutions
In 1996 Phelps led a protest at the US Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., proclaiming:
Whatever the pious cause of Jewish victims of the Nazi Holocaust of the 1930s has been (perhaps very small, compared to the Jewish Holocausts against Middle Passage Blacks, African Americans and Christians - including the bloody persecution of the Westboro Baptist Church by Topeka Jews in 1990 -an), has been immersed in sodomite cement. American taxpayers fund this sacred monument for the Jewish hatred and greed and for dirty passions. Homosexuals and Jews dominate Nazi Germany... Jews now roam the earth hated, beaten with moral and spiritual blindness by the stroke of the divine justice... And God has beaten the Jews with some madness... Jews, thus perverted, all the proportion of their numbers encouraged the militant sodomy agenda... Jews were the real Nazis.
The WBC was present at the 2002 Holocaust memorial service in Topeka, proclaiming "God Hates Reform Judaism".
On May 8, 2009, church members protested three Jewish sites in Washington, D.C., including the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) office, the US Holocaust Memorial Museum and the city's biggest synagogue. Margie Phelps, the daughter of Rev. Fred Phelps, led the protests, holding signs stating that "God Hates Israel", "Jews Kill Jesus", "America Is Doomed", "Israel Is Doomed", and "ADL Jew Bullies". The protest appears to be part of a series of upcoming protests planned by the church at Jewish institutions in Omaha, St. Louis. Louis, South Florida and Providence. The group reportedly posted a list of locations and dates of upcoming protests, along with the statement "The Jews Kill Jesus."
In an interview, Margie Phelps said that his church targeted the American Jewish community because church members had "testified" to Gentiles for 19 years that "America is cursed" and that "It is too late now that we are done with them." He also claims that the Jews are "one of the loudest voices" in favor of homosexuality and abortion, and that "[the Jews] claim to be God's chosen people do you think God will wink it forever?" Phelps concludes by stating, in clear reference to the Book of Revelation, that all the nations of the world will soon march on Israel, and that they will be headed by President Barack Obama, whom he calls "Antichrist."
Other protest activities
On January 26, 2008, the WBC went to Jacksonville, North Carolina, Camp Lejeune's home, to protest the United States Marine Corps after the assassination of Maria Lauterbach. Five women protested, stepped on the American flag and shouted slogans such as "1,2,3,4, God Hates the Marine Corps".
On May 14, 2008, two days after the Sichuan earthquake 2008 which killed at least 70,000 people, WBC issued a press release that thanked God for the loss of life in China, and prayed "for more earthquakes to kill more. ruthless Chinese and do not know thank you ".
Most anti-abortion activists avoid the OB/GYN funeral. George Tiller, was assassinated on May 31, 2009. Held at Wichita College Hill United Methodist Church, attended by 900 mourners. However, 17 members of Westboro are guarded, guarded at a distance of 150 feet (150 m) by police. WBC protesters hold signs that say "God sends shooters", "Abortion is bloody murder", and "Baby Killer in Hell".
On May 29, 2011, the WBC intends to rally in Joplin, Missouri, at the funeral ceremony of the victims of May 22, 2011, a whirlwind that flattened most of the city. Those who intend to protest the memorial services or speeches of President Obama given there, or both, are denied entry into place by hundreds of local and regional inhabitants, including a large group of motorcyclists from the Patriot Guard Guards.
On May 30, 2011, the WBC was present at the Memorial Memorial Memorial Day as part of a "Thank God for the Dead Army" campaign. A counter-protest including members of the Ku Klux Klan.
The victim of eleven-year-old brain tumor Harry Moseley collected £ 500,000 for charity but Marge Phelps from Westboro Baptist Church criticized his family for not teaching him to "obey God". This comment within hours of the boy's death caused great sorrow for the bereaved.
The WBC announced its intention to protest on December 19, 2012, at the funerals of photo shooters Sandy Hook Elementary School. Anonymous online hacktivist group and several other groups responded by organizing the human wall to protect the families of the victims. The WBC then left the area without getting involved in the protests.
Not showing
The Church sometimes issues press releases that threaten the picketing of sensitive events such as funerals and memorials without following up. Examples include Natasha Richardson's funeral, Elizabeth Taylor, Ryan Dunn, Joe Paterno, Roy Tisdale, Love Yeardley, Charlie and Braden Powell, Steve Jobs, Whitney Houston, George Jones, Lou Reed, Pete Seeger, Maya Angelou, Robert H. Schuller, Guitarist Slayer Jeff Hanneman, Robin Williams, and the victims of the Mississippi I-35W River bridge collapsed. Margie Phelps later claimed over Twitter to protest Houston's funeral and upload pictures showing WBC protesters there. However, Star-Ledger reporters later stated that no WBC demonstrators were present, which led to allegations of photo manipulation.
Church View
The Westboro Baptist Church considers membership in most other religious groups, such as the Roman Catholic Church or Islam, just like the devil worship, and declares these other churches as "Satan's deceptions proclaiming the lies of the Arminians." The Church defines itself as "Old School (or, Primitive) Baptist" and sees itself as the defense of Five Points of Calvinism: total depravity, unconditional election, limited atonement, unbearable grace, and perseverance of saints. Rebecca Barrett-Fox, a professor at Arkansas State University who completed his dissertation at Westboro Baptist, has marked it as "hyper-Calvinist".
Protest
In the BBC's Most Hated Family documentary in America , filmmaker Louis Theroux questioned Shirley Phelps-Roper about whether he thought Westboro's protest techniques were more likely to "make the dead" Christ and the Bible. "In response, Phelps-Roper said," you think that our job is to win souls to Christ. All we do, by putting up their faces and putting these signs in front of them and these ordinary words, is making what is already in their hearts out of their mouths. "Later in the documentary, Phelps-Roper agrees that $ 200,000 churches each year spent flying to the cemetery to protest is money spent on spreading" God's hatred ".
Homosexuality
The Church is renowned for its anti-homosexual rhetoric and runs many websites such as GodHatesFags.com, GodHatesAmerica.com, and others expressing homosexual condemnation.
The group based its work on the belief expressed by the famous slogan and its main website address, God Hates Fags, stated that every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality - in particular the increasing tolerance and acceptance of the so-called homosexual agenda. This group maintains that God hates those who engage in homosexual activity above all kinds of "sinners" and homosexuality must be a capital crime.
Their view of homosexuality is based partly on the teachings found in the Old Testament, especially Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13, which they interpret means that homosexual behavior is abominable, and that homosexuals should be put to death.
Religion
Christianity
The Westboro Baptist Church has criticized various Christian denominations, especially on a theological basis.
Catholicism
The Westboro Baptist Church referred to the Catholic priest as "vampire" and "Draculas" and accused the Catholic priest of sucking sperm from a boy's genitals as vampires suck blood from their victims. In addition, the WBC calls Pope Benedict XVI a nickname such as "The Godfather of Pedophiles" and "Pervert Pope". In April 2008, the WBC protested Pope Benedict XVI during a papal visit in New York City.
The WBC launched a website called Priests Rape Boys in which they criticized the Roman Catholic Church for a Catholic sex abuse scandal, saying, "Every time someone gives some money to the Catholic Church, that person pays pedophile salaries, rapists."
The WBC describes the Roman Catholic Church as "the largest, most funded and organized group of pedophiles in human history" and goes on to say that, "There are more than 1 billion Catholics in the world - that's one out of every six people alive today - and everyone of them will divide the Hell wide open when they die-periods, and there is nothing they can do about it. "The WBC also criticizes Catholicism, like the Eastern Orthodox, for honoring the Virgin Mary, the Saints, the relics, and the icons; they accused the Catholic Church of idolatry.
Protestantism
Although the main objective of Priams Rape Boys website is to criticize Catholics, the WBC also criticizes some mainline Protestant churches on websites, including Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, Anglican, and Baptist. The WBC states it
... their preachers have neglected their responsibility to tell people the truth about sin, and instead lie to them about what their Lord requires of them. If these false and false prophets tell people the truth about what God says about those who suffer sin over their neighbors (Leviticus 19: 17-18), there will be no stumps in the chair when the throw is over. These preachers are not true preachers of truth, they are teachers who have itchy ears (2 Timothy 4: 3), and they really rely on the biblical ignorance of their parishioners... "The priest rapes the boy" is true air-tight, three-word case against all major "Christian" churches-preachers and their members, without exception. They will all go to Hell!
Eastern Orthodox
The WBC claims that Eastern Orthodox Christianity is indistinguishable from Roman Catholicism. The WBC criticized the use of Eastern Orthodox Church icons, claiming that they were idolatrous. The WBC also criticized the worship of the Virgin Mary (aka Theotokos), saying, "There is no scripture that supports bowing to smell pictures... or pray to Mary! He is a man, destined by God to bring the Lord Jesus Christ, and to raise him. "
Oriental Orthodoxy
The WBC also criticized Oriental Orthodox Christians and claimed that Ethiopian Orthodoxy was "based on a big and fat lie" and was "a strange mixture of Jewish and pagan rituals". The WBC also claims that since the Orthodox churches are fully united with each other, they are not "true New Testament churches", because the WBC claims that true churches must be "independent, local, autonomous, and without formal affiliation with other churches." "The WBC also condemned theosis or glorification teaching in Orthodox Christianity, saying" Stop glorifying the creature! "
Islam
Responding to the article Newsweek stating that American soldiers were milking a copy of the Qur'an to the toilet at Camp X-Ray at Guantanamo Bay, Fred Phelps issued this statement:
So what if our people milk a copy of the Qur'an in the toilet? We hope they do it. They might do it; We hope they water more. Muhammad is a vicious demon-possessed demon and pedophile who makes a 300-page demonic fiction: the Qur'an! Like an American explorer and pedophile himself who babbled on his own hokey Book of Mormon!
In relation to the Iraq War, the WBC leaflet says "America bombs our church with IEDs made by homosexual students... In his anger, God kills Americans with IED Muslims: 'Saying, Touching is not an anointed one, and doing my prophets does no harm. '1 Chron 16:22. "
In Louis Theroux's Jedi Phelps 2011 documentary The Catherine's Family's Most Hated Family in Crises, Jael Phelps said in an interview that he and other members of the WBC were mocking and openly burning copies of the Qur'an while being scolded by a Muslim man, called it "an embarrassing piece of rubbish" and that they gave it a "proper respect" by doing it. They waded through the funeral of the Muslim man's wife the following week. Jael Phelps said that the death of a wife was partly because her Muslim husband had spoken against the WBC, and therefore rejected the Lord and brought "just judgment" to him. He also commented that "all angry little Muslims can just keep their mouths shut."
Hinduism
The WBC maintains the Indian Hates web page where they say "80% of India's population claims to practice Hinduism Nuff said:" A pagan nation must produce a country full of homestay and fag-enablers , because that's what happens when you depart from the Living God! "
The WBC later rebuked the Hindus for converting to Christianity, saying: "If you will STOP worshiping false gods, being a phage will not be a complicated matter, stop wailing after other gods and begin serving the Living God in truth!"
Judaism
In the Jewish section, the WBC FAQ states:
The only true Jew is a Christian. The rest of those who claim to be Jews do not, and they are nothing more than unbelieving sinners... most of the Jews favor the homo. In fact, it was the official policy of the Reformed Jews to support same-sex marriage. Of course, there are Jews who still believe in God's law, but most of them have even abandoned it. It does not matter if you are Jew or Gentile... as long as you believe in Christ.
They also blame the Jews for killing Christ, quoting 1 Thessalonians 2: 14-15 as justification.
In 1996, Phelps started a campaign called the Holocaust of Topeka Baptist, where he tried to draw attention to attacks on WBC voters, saying that they were not random but organized attacks were organized by Jews and homosexuals. Phelps declared, "Jews kill Christ", and "Nazi Fag is worse than ordinary Nazis, they have more experience, the first Holocaust is a Jewish Holocaust against Christians." The last Holocaust was by Topeka Jews against Westboro Baptist Church.
In another statement, he said "Topeka Jews today evoke the tyrants of Kansas in persecuting the Westboro Baptists, whining about the Nazi Holocaust, while they do Topeka Holocaust."
A March 25, 2006 pilot about Phelps Jewish enemies using the phrase "Jewish" four times and the phrase "evil Jews" more than once every 12 sentences. The Anti-Defamation League has criticized the church and Phelps, and has kept a sample of the WBC flyers on Judaism on their website.
The WBC describes the Holocaust as a punishment of God against Jews.
Racism
The church's founder, Fred Phelps, was a veteran of the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Dissent of racism by the Church and the use of physical violence by groups such as neo-Nazis and KKKs are stated on its website. The site's FAQ page states, "[W] e does not believe in physical violence of any kind, and the Bible does not support racism... The only true Nazi in the world is homosexual."
Previous churches have condemned certain countries, such as Italy, which are described as the "mobster mobster" and Australia, which he described as "damned sodomy land".
Westboro announced his intention to reap the funeral of Nelson Mandela, a key figure of the anti apartheid movement, claiming that he would go to hell for committing adultery by remarrying after his divorce. They also condemned the Dutch Reformed Church for promoting apartheid.
Barack Obama
The Westboro Baptist Church believes that Barack Obama is the Antichrist and that he forms an unholy trinity with Satan and former Pope Benedict XVI, whom they believe is the False Prophet of Revelation.
Margie Phelps, Fred Phelps' daughter and WBC lawyer, said in an interview with Fox News that Obama "really" went to hell and that he "most likely Beast is spoken of in Revelation". He also said the Obama presidency is a sign of the Apocalypse.
Responses
Laws that restrict funeral protests
In response to protests by Westboro members at the Indiana cemetery, the bill was introduced at Indiana's General Assembly which would make it a crime to protest within 500 feet (150 m) of the cemetery. The bill provides a sentence of up to three years in prison and a $ 10,000 fine for those found to be unlawful. Shortly before the bill was signed church members had threatened to protest in Kokomo, Indiana, at a funeral held for a soldier killed in Iraq. On January 11, 2006, the bill unanimously (11-0) passed the vote of the committee, and when the church members had gone to Kokomo to protest, they were not seen during or after the funeral. On May 23, 2006, the state of Michigan banned intentional burial burial within 500 feet (150 m) of the ceremony. Violating the law would be a crime, punishable up to two years in prison and a $ 5,000 fine for first offense and up to four years in prison and a $ 10,000 fine for subsequent offenses.
On May 17, 2006, the state of Illinois enacted Senate Bill 1144, "Let Them Take a Rest in Peace", to protect the grieving military families from protest during funerals and funerals of deceased military personnel. The first violation of this Act is a Class C violation, which can be sentenced to up to 30 days in jail and a fine of $ 1,500, and a second or subsequent violation is a Class 4 crime punishable by one to three years in a state jail and a fine. up to $ 25,000.
On May 29, 2006, President George W. Bush signed a Law of Respect for the American Fallen Heroes Act (Pub.L. 109-228), which prohibited protests within 300 feet (100 m) of the entrance of each cemetery in under the control of the National Funeral Administration from 60 minutes before being 60 minutes after the funeral. Penalties for violating the law up to $ 100,000 fine and up to one year in prison. The bill garnered extraordinary bipartisan support in Congress with a 408-3 vote in the House, with 21 no vote, and unanimous vote in the Senate.
On January 11, 2011, the state of Arizona held an emergency legislative session to pass a bill banning protests within 300 feet (100 m) of the cemetery and within an hour of beginning or end. The bill was immediately signed into law before the funeral of 12 January from those killed in the 2011 Tucson shooting.
On August 2, 2012, Congress passed a bill that included the restrictions of demonstrators at a military cemetery, which became law four days later when it was signed by President Obama. The bill says that for 2 hours before up to 2 hours after the funeral service demonstrators should stay at least 300 feet (100 m) from the border of the cemetery and away from the dying family members' quarters.
Case of the Supreme Court
On March 10, 2006, the WBC chaired the funeral of Marines Marine Officer Matthew A. Snyder in Westminister, Maryland. The picket was held at a location closed by police, about 1,000 feet (300 m) from the Church, about 30 minutes before the funeral began. On June 5, 2006, the Snyder family was sued for defamation, invasion of privacy, and the intentional suffering of emotional distress. The suit was named Albert Snyder, Matthew Snyder's father, as a plaintiff and Fred W. Phelps, Sr.; Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.; Rebekah Phelps-Davis; and Shirley Phelps-Roper as defendants, alleging that they were responsible for publishing defamation information about Snyder's family on the Internet, including the statement that Albert and his wife had "raised [Matthew] to the devil" and taught him "to oppose his Maker, to divorce , and committing adultery ". Another statement criticized them for raising their son Catholics. Snyder further complained that the defendant had stormed and staged a protest at his son's funeral. Privacy infringement claims and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website were dismissed on the grounds of the First Amendment, but the case continued to court over three counts remaining. At the trial, Albert Snyder gave testimony:
They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They want their message to be heard and they do not care who they are stomping on. My son should be buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside.
In his direction to the jury, US District Judge Richard D. Bennett stated that the First Amendment's protection of freedom of expression has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements, and that the jury must decide "whether the defendant's actions would offend the reasonable person, they are extreme and outrageous and whether this action is very offensive and shocking because it is not entitled to protection of the First Amendment ". See also Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, a case in which certain personal slurs and obscene greetings by an individual are found to be unfit for protection of the First Amendment, due to the potential for violence resulting from their speech.
On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis, were found to be responsible for the invasion of privacy and the deliberate suffering of emotional distress. The federal jury awarded Snyder $ 2.9 million in damages, then added the decision to give $ 6 million in compensation for privacy violations and an additional $ 2 million to cause emotional distress ($ 10.9 million total). The organization said it would not change its message because of the verdict. The WBC said that they were grateful for the publicity caused by the verdict, and did not succeed in seeking the cancellation of the trial (based on the allegations of prejudice made by the judge and the silent violation of the order by the plaintiff's lawyer) and also filed an appeal.
On February 4, 2008, US District Judge Richard D. Bennett upheld the verdict, but reduced the compensation penalty from $ 8 million to $ 2.1 million, bringing the total verdict to $ 5 million. Liens was ordered to the church building and the Phelps law office in an effort to ensure that the damage would be paid.
On September 24, 2009, the federal appeals court ruled in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church and reversed the lower court ruling. Found their picket near the cemetery is a protected speech for involving "matters of public concern, including homosexual issues in the military, sex abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral behavior of the United States and citizens", and not violating privacy family member service. On March 30, 2010, the appeals court ordered Albert Snyder to pay a church court fee of more than $ 16,000, a move Snyder's lawyer called "adding insult to injury". The decision led to national support for Snyder, with more than 3,000 pledges for donations to help offset costs; political commentator Bill O'Reilly offered to pay the entire amount on March 30. The American Legion has also raised $ 17,000 to help pay Snyder court fees.
On March 8, 2010, the US Supreme Court granted a certificate at Snyder v. Phelps , (Document No. 09-751, 8 March 2010). On May 28, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, joining 42 other Senators, filed an amicus briefing to support Snyder with the Supreme Court. On June 1, Kansas Attorney Stephen Six filed separate separate supporters Snyder. This brief report was attended by the Attorney General from 47 other states and the District of Columbia, with Maine and Virginia as two exceptions. Some news and civil rights organizations have proposed amicus briefs to support Phelps, including the American Civil Liberties Union, the Reporting Committee for Press Freedom, and twenty-one other media organizations.
In the 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Phelps on March 2, 2011. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote a majority opinion stating: "What Westboro said, in all contexts of how and where he chooses to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment and that protection can not be overcome by a jury who finds that the precaution is outrageous. "Judge Samuel Alito, the only person who disagreed, said that Snyder just wanted to" bury his son in peace ". Instead, Alito said the protesters "brutally attacked" Matthew Snyder to attract public attention. "Our deep national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for vicious cruelty attacks occurring in this case," he said.
Other legal responses
On July 14, 2006, Mundy Township, Michigan collected a WBC of $ 5,000. The Westboro Church had informed the municipal government on June 28 that a protest was planned at the Swartz Funeral Home. Church bills took place, according to the local police chief, as the congregation failed to keep verbal contracts for security. Fred Phelps' s daughter claimed that the Holy Spirit had told them not to fly to Michigan even though they had bought a plane ticket. Security at Webb's cemetery is high; 15 fire trucks were involved, as well as a number of police officers from nearby jurisdictions. The municipality now states that it will not pursue the problem.
Canadian entry ban
In August 2008, Canadian officials learned of WBC's intention to protest at Tim McLean's funeral, a resident of Winnipeg who was killed on the bus. The protest meant to convey the message that the man's murder was God's response to Canadian law allowing abortion, homosexuality, divorce, and remarriage. In response, Canadian officials forbid church members from entering the country.
UK entry ban
In February 2009, a British news source found that the WBC had announced on their website that they intended to harvest the youth production of The Laramie Project to be held at Central Studio, Queen Mary's College in Basingstoke, Hampshire , on February 20, 2009. This will be their first picket in the United Kingdom.
Ahead of the picket, a number of MPs, lobby groups and LGBT groups appealed to Home Secretary of the United Kingdom, Jacqui Smith, to have these individuals blocked from entering the UK, on ​​the grounds that the WBC will incite hatred against LGBT people. On February 18, 2009, two days before the appointed date set, the Home Office announced that Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper would be specifically excluded from entering the UK for "engaging in unacceptable behavior by inciting hatred against some communities", and that "other church members can also be marked and stopped if they try to enter the UK".
The alliance of six British religious groups (British Baptist Association, British Evangelical Alliance, Faithworks, Methodist Church of Great Britain, United States Reformed Church and Thought Society Funded Theos) made a joint statement on 19 February 2009 to support the government's decision and condemn Church activities The Westboro Baptist said, "We do not share Westboro's hatred of lesbian and gay people.We believe that God loves all, regardless of sexual orientation, and we are without hesitation standing up against their message of hatred towards the community." part of their picket, a sign designed by the church to denounce Diana, the Welsh Princess for tolerating British homosexuals and helping AIDS patients.
Counter protests
Counter protests are often held to be held on sites that Westboro Baptist picket. In some cases, counter protesters marched and turned their backs on the Westboro Baptist tack.
In 1999, inspired by Matthew Shepard's murder the previous year, Michael Moore organized a protest against homophobia for his Awful Truth TV show. He toured the states with anti-sodomy laws on "Sodomobile", a pink bus filled with gay men and women. At one point, they visited the Westboro Church complex and went out to meet Fred Phelps, when Moore introduced Sodomobile to him.
Two days after the attacks of September 11, 2001, a 19-year-old man named Jared Dailey was standing on a street corner facing the church holding a wooden board that read "Not today, Fred." Within two days, 86 people joined him, waving American flags and anti-hate signs.
During a picket in Seaford, Delaware on May 21, 2006, one person broke through police ranks and attacked a WBC member who escaped to a police car. Five people face criminal charges.
Early on the morning of August 2, 2008, someone burned a garage near the Westboro Baptist Church, causing about $ 10,000 in damages.
On December 12, 2008, the group took production of The Laramie Project at the Boston Arts Center. Local activists held off Phelps-A-Thon in response. Supporters pledged online to contribute every minute of WBC protests. The event generated over $ 4,600 for LGBT rights projects, Driving Equality.
In March 2010, ad-hoc group Richmond, Virginia, was formed to make a counter-protest against Westboro Baptist visit plans protesting against Jewish and LGBT organizations. Pennies In Protes takes an appointment for every minute of the WBC protest. The funds (about $ 14,000) are then donated to the same Jewish and LGBT organizations that WBC protests.
On November 30, 2010, defective army veteran Ryan Newell was arrested in an SUV parked outside Wichita, Kansas, town hall while members of the WBC were meeting inside. Weapons and ammunition were found behind the SUV, and Newell was charged with a violation of weapons and a criminal conspiracy to perform an aggravated battery. On June 23, 2011, Newell pleaded guilty to imitating a law enforcement officer and was sentenced to two years probation. Newell receives public support for its actions, and fundraisers and websites are made publicly to assist its defense.
On December 11, 2010, the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, a group called Line of Love plans to have about 200 protesters on the north side of West Edenton Street in Raleigh, North Carolina, while 10 Westboro members patrol the south side. road, two blocks away from the cemetery. Members of Westboro who disagree with Edwards' tolerance for gays are "promoting awareness of the dangers of homosexuality", the Line of Love provides the goal of "promoting proper respect for funerals".
On February 24, 2011, hacktivists successfully took the Westboro Baptist Church website. The Church claims this is an Anonymous work, but the group rejects responsibility, rather than identifying The Jester as the culprit. During a live TV confrontation at The David Pakman Show between Shirley Phelps-Roper and Topiary of LulzSec, Phelps-Roper stated that Anonymous could not "stop God's message". In response, Topiary and the accomplice mastered one of the Westboro subdomains during the confrontation.
On September 16, 2011, when Westboro members performed the Foo Fighters concert in Kansas City, Missouri, the band appeared on a float truck in front of the demonstrators. Wearing homoerotic clothing, they performed a state of "Keep It Clean" parodies - which contained a lot of homosexual references and nuances - from their "Hot Buns" viral videos; In the middle of the road despite the song, vocalist Dave Grohl gave a speech calling for equality and tolerance. The band uploaded an impromptu appearance video the next day on their YouTube channel.
After Westboro announced plans to sort out the funeral of photo shooter Sandy Hook Elementary on December 14, 2012, hackers from Anonymous executed a distributed denial of service attack (DDOS) on Westboro website, GodHatesFags.com, stated: "We will continue DDOS until they are forced to place tithes churches that they use to pay for bandwidth. "Anonymous also simultaneously released the Westboro membership list, with personal contact information for most Westboro members.
In 2012, Aaron Jackson, a co-founder of Peace Cultivation, intentionally purchased a house across the street from the WBC with the intention of supporting LGBT adolescents. In March 2013, the house was nicknamed "House of Equality" because it was painted the color of a gay pride flag.
On July 14, 2013, members of The Satanic Temple performed a "pink mass" ritual above the tomb of Fred Phelps's mother. The group says that "the masses" will turn the dead woman into a posthumous lesbian.
The satirical Facebook page about God raised $ 80,000 from fans to post a billboard in Topeka that read "God Loves Gays", which debuted on September 8, 2014.
On June 18, 2016, about 200 people blocked the viewpoint of pickpocketing by church members that took place after a Orlando Orlando nightclub shoot that left 50 people dead at a nightclub frequented by members of the Orlando LGBT community.
In July 2016, the church was a 'gym' at Pokémon Mon Go led by a pink Clefairy that was entered by a player named "Love is Love". Church members respond by branding on Pokémon sodomite.
Patriot Guard Riders
The Patriot Guard Riders are a group of motorcyclists composed largely of veterans who attended the funeral of members of the US Army at the invitation of the deceased family. The group was originally formed to protect and protect the funerals from demonstrators from the WBC.
Parody
The common slogan used in reply protests is "God hates figs". Parodying the WBC letters of all-mother "God hates fags", signs of counter-protest often invite a passage in Matthew to justify the claim of God and his feelings about figs. Signs have been recorded at counter-protests at the University of Chicago; in Spartanburg, South Carolina; and in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, as well as in a non-WBC themed Rally for Restoring Kewarasan. The use of these satirical signs has been praised by the ACLU and others.
The documentation given in counter protests cites Bible verses in which Jesus says that no one should eat the fruit of the fig tree (Mark 11: 12-14), where Jesus caused the fig tree withered (Matthew 21: 18-20) , and where God promises, as punishment, to make a person like a bad fig (Jeremiah 29:17). This is an original quote, but not the only one that mentions the figs in the Bible.
Other sites and organizations parody the slogans of Westboro Baptist Church, including God Hates Fred Phelps, God Hates Bags, and God Hates Shrimp. The Cooper family in Kevin Smith 2011 Red State is reportedly inspired by Westboro Baptist Church.
Criticism
A number of critics of Phelps have suggested that Westboro Baptist action is just a way to receive attention and publicity above all, even though Phelpses himself rejects this claim. Counter-protest against the group, they advise, give them the attention and incentives they do not deserve; and a more effective response to Phelps will completely ignore the family and congregation. The WBC, through the closely related Phelps Chartered law firm, has collected fees under the 1976 Civil Rights Lawyers Rights Act when their protests have been illegally disrupted.
Katherine Weber of The Christian Post stated that "Westboro is considered an extremist group by most mainstream and secular Christian churches, and is famous for its aggressive protest style." In Britain, the Methodist Church, the Baptist Union, the United Reformed Church, and the Evangelical churches "have issued a joint statement rejecting the Westboro Baptist Church," which states that:
We do not share their hatred of lesbian and gay people. We believe that God loves everyone, regardless of sexual orientation, and we firmly oppose their message of hatred towards those communities. Both the style and the substance of their preaching reveal the historical, orthodox Christian faith. And we ask that members of the Westboro Baptist Church refrain from mobilizing more homophobic hatred in Britain or elsewhere.
A frequent critic of the WBC is a political commentator Bill O'Reilly, who regularly calls the church "evil and disgraceful". Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore also criticized the church.
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) described Westboro Baptist Church as "virulently homophobic", saying its anti-homosexual rhetoric is often a cover for anti-Semitism, anti-Americanism, racism and anti-Catholicism. The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has added the Westboro Baptist Church to its list of hate groups. Jerry Falwell calls Phelps a "first-class bean". WBC picked Falwell funeral service on May 22, 2007.
In response to the WBC announcement that they will take precautions for victims of Sandy Hook Primary School shootings on December 14, 2012, several petitions to the White House (using the We the People system) have been filed, asking the President to legally acknowledge the WBC as a group resentment, revoke his tax exemption for religious organizations, and to ban protests at funerals and memorial services. One petition, backed by the Anonymous hacktivist group, was sent on the day of the shootings, and reached over 75,000 signatures in two days.
Rapper Mac Lethal uploaded a video titled "Beatbox iPhone Guitar Fast Rap = Win By Mac Lethal" on December 18, 2012 that took inspiration from the actions of Westboro Baptist Church and the media after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shoot. Some of the lyrics include:
- And I might suck on the guitar
- but at least I never protested the dead soldier's funeral,
- and I may lose my hair, but at least I never judge a woman for thinking another woman is beautiful,
- and sometimes, I mean sometimes,
- I might even send text messages while I'm driving,
- but I never thanked God when a precious 5-year-old boy was shot, and died....
In 2013, Christian rock band Five Iron Frenzy recorded a song titled "God Hates Flags" which condemned Westboro Baptist actions and similar organizations, including lyrics such as "If God is love, you are mistakenly waving all your placards and flags."
Nathan Phelps, the church's estranged son, Fred Phelps, claimed that he had never had a relationship with his abusive father when he was growing up and that the Westboro Baptist Church was an organization for his father to "vent his anger and anger." He alleges that, in addition to harming others, his father used to physically torture his wife and children by beating them with his fists and with a matte handle until he bleeds. Phelps' brother Markus supports and repeats Nathan's remarks about physical abuse by their father. Since 2004, more than 20 church members, mostly family members, have left the church and their families.
In March 2014, Nathan posted on Facebook that his father was at a nursing home in Topeka and almost died. Furthermore, Nathan also stated that he knew that Fred was ostracized from Westboro Baptist Church in August 2013, for no apparent reason. This statement was later reaffirmed by Mark Phelps. Nathan had previously predicted that the Westboro Baptist Church could fall into a leadership crisis and theological crisis when Fred died, because he was a binding figure and because of their belief that they were immortal, to be denied by the death of a member. WBC spokesman Steve Drain denied that Fred Sr was on the verge of death and refused to confirm the reported excommunication. Fred Sr died three days later.
Mark Phelps left Westboro Baptist Church in 1973 and started "formal healing therapy in 1988 and worked towards healing and recovery, overcoming the terrible pain and fear of 19 years of living together" his father. Mark Phelps, who was baptized in another local church in 1994, stated further: "If I have to take my family to court and punish them as followers of Christ, I am not sure where I will find evidence."
Lauren Drain, another former member of the Westboro Baptist Church, released an autobiography titled Stopped in March 2013. He characterizes children, like himself, who have been brainwashed into their belief systems and described the consequences of questioning their belief system. , like the expulsion.
Megan Phelps-Roper, Fred Phelps's grandson left the church in 2012 and explains his reasoning and experience in TED talks. In 2015, Sam Harris published an interview with Megan Phelps-Roper, the grandson of Fred Phelps and former Westboro Baptist Church member. He has written a book and has filmed his experience and noted that his three siblings have also left the church.
Feedback to website
The Westboro Baptist Church website is blocked by major ISPs in the UK under the category "Weapons, Violence, Horror, and Hate".
Vincent Flanders (famous for his criticism of the Mysterious meat navigation) is distracted by the good design of the Westboro Baptist Church website, saying "I am afraid that more and more types of this site will disguise themselves in good robes, web design" and concluded " I say I hope all websites look good and successful, more proof that you have to be careful what you want. "
Documentary media coverage
In 2001, Sundance Channel aired the film A Union in Wait, a documentary about same-sex marriage directed by Ryan Butler. Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church members appeared in the film after Phelps presented the Wake Forest Baptist Church at Wake Forest University during a similar union ceremony.
In 2005, British satellite company British Sky Broadcasting produced investigative work using a hidden camera, which included footage of two Phelps grandchildren, Libby and Jael. In testimony, Libby and Yael explain that they hope and pray that no one outside Westboro be "elected", because they want others in the world to die and burn in Hell, and that even if they do not believe their actions are dictated by God, they will still do and enjoy it. The interview was not part of a hidden camera segment, and although many of the recordings were taken without the knowledge or permission of Westboro, the church maintained links to all reports on its website.
On April 1, 2007, the British television channel BBC Two broadcast Louis Theroux The Most Hated Family in America. Theroux has presented a number of documentaries about unusual or unconventional people and groups in Britain, the US, and elsewhere. A follow-up documentary by Theroux, America's Most Coveted America in Crisis, was aired in England on April 3, 2011. Theroux reported that Westboro was in a "crisis" state and documented the departure of several young members. Since then, two more prominent members have left the church.
The godhatesfags.com website is prominently featured in the The Jeremy Kyle Show , a talk show aired on the UK ITV network on June 5, 2007. Shirley Phelps-Roper and his daughter were invited to express their beliefs through satellite. On the show, Kyle criticized Phelps for their beliefs and called the Phelps children "completely and genuinely brainwashed", and to Phelps-Roper himself as "crazy".
In June 21, 2007, Keith Allen's documentary Keith Allen Will Burn in Hell, starring Keith Allen, in which Phelps-Roper and some of his sons agreed to appear, Phelps-Roper admits in camera that he the eldest son, Samuel, was born out of wedlock. Allen expressed Phelps-Roper's vocal condemnation of foreigners who conducted sexual congress outside of marriage to be hypocritical because he was guilty of the same.
Funding
WBC travel costs exceed $ 200,000 per year. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Westboro is funded entirely by its congregation and does not accept external donations. The Church has received money from lawsuits and legal fees. For example, they sued the city of Topeka several times in the 1990s. The WBC receives $ 16,500, and pursues another $ 100,000, in legal fees for cases won in court. The WBC is considered a non-profit organization by the federal government, and is therefore exempt from paying taxes.
According to the Louis Theroux documentary The Most Hated Family in America , members of the Phelps family are expected to have full-time jobs and give ten percent of their income to the church, and many of them are lawyers.
Law Firm Charter Phelps
Fred Phelps founded Phelps Chartered Law Firm in 1964, which has since been used to prosecute communities targeted by Westboro protests. The five lawyers of the law firm were Phelps's children, and eleven of his thirteen children were lawyers. Since the firm represents the Westboro Baptist Church in his lawsuit, he can use the money from the case he won to fund the church further. Although the company often succeeds, as observed by SPLC, "A local lawyer, Pedro Irigonegaray, came up with a new way to fight Phelpses.As Phelps Chartered, accused of 'emotional damage', sued a person who has filed criminal charges against WBC members, the Irigonegaray
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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