Disturbing Behavior
by Big Dog on Mar 4, 2006 at 23:22 Military
There is a campaign going on to send this family letters and cards of support. Please take the time to visit A Soldier’s Perspective for more information on how you can help comfort a family in the most tragic time of their lives. Regardless of how anyone feels about this war a fallen hero deserves the greatest respect and deserves to be buried with dignity. The family deserves not to be harassed. Unfortunately, Members of the Westboro Baptist Church appear ready to protest Jones’ funeral, unless of course the governor can sign into law restrictions on these kinds of activities.
Perhaps a few of us old soldiers could form our own minuteman group like the one that guards the border with Mexico. We can travel to military funerals and keep idiots like those from the Westboro Baptist Church from getting out of line. Baseball bats are finely suited for this purpose.
God bless the soul of SGT Rickey Jones. May God grant him peaceful eternal rest and may God bless and comfort his family. May God also forgive those who added to the pain of his family and those who would protest his funeral.
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As always, I welcome your comments
Big Dog, This saddens me that the most liberal left, about the only ones I know besides islamofacist extermists who would do such a thing. Guess they are torked because their beloved commie teacher is getting fired for trying to polictically indoctrinate the hearts and minds of America (our high school age youth).
Man, these Cindy Sheehan types are going to destroy America. I feel it all over again what we Viet Nam Vets experienced.
Guess all the Kerry, Fonda, Sheehan types are going to keep going till they destroy America.
I hope that some true patriotic Americans will hear the call and protect this family. Ship that bastards responsible to Iran or the frontier of Afgan-Pakistan and let them fend for themselves.
Repectfully,
Bos’un
Breaking news (anyway sometime today, was just pointed out to me on Hannity Forum:
Area veterans scorn Kansas hate group From. The Sentinel Online: ( http://www.cumberlink.com/articles/2006/03/03/news/news21.txt )
By John Hilton, March 03, 2006
Sandy Wyland offered a parting shot as a group of Topeka-based protesters headed for their car.
“You’re not in Kansas anymore!” she yelled after the four out-of-towners. “You’re in New Kingstown, Pennsylvania! And don’t come back!” With that, it was over just as quickly as it began.
In between the steady rain and the various Marines, Vietnam veterans and motorcycle groups, the Westboro Baptist Church never had much of a chance to spread its message of hate during a staged visit prior to Thursday’s memorial service for Marine Capt. Bryan Willard. The Enola native was killed Feb. 17 when his helicopter crashed into the Red Sea near Djibouti, Africa.
The three women and one man sang “God Bless America,” while holding signs such as “God is your enemy.” It was enough to confuse Steve Gallagher of New Kingstown.
“I just don’t get it,” said Gallagher as the group sang in front of his house. “They shouldn’t even be here. They should let the poor guy rest in peace.”
The Rev. Fred Phelps, Westboro church pastor, believes American military deaths in Iraq and elsewhere are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. Westboro members have showed up to protest at other military funerals across the country.
For years, Phelps and members of his independent church, made up mainly of family members, protested funerals of AIDS victims, but they have now shifted to soldiers.
The only hint of confrontation came after the out-of-state protesters began chanting “Semper Fi! Semper Fag!”
Marines were lined up along the church sidewalk with their backs to the protesters, who camped across Route 11.
Suddenly, the Marines turned around and drowned out the protesters with a spirited rendition of “The Marines’ Hymn.”
‘No way’
Vietnam veteran Larry Carter said he “probably” would have attended Willard’s funeral anyway, but he knew he had to come once he heard about the Westboro protesters.
“You are not going to protest at a funeral of a dead Marine. No way,” said Carter of Carlisle. “Their God is not my God.”
His wife, Carol, took a philosophical view.
“In a way these people are showing how great this country is because they can do this,” she said of the group exercising its First Amendment rights.
Even so, it was tough for many to swallow. Tough for Beverly McGee, who lives across from the church on Route 11.
“It’s not right to do this at a funeral,” she said after passing out hand-held flags to several neighbors. “This is a little neighborhood. They’ve got the whole (Carlisle) Pike up there they could protest… It shows how ‘brave’ they are n there’s not too many of them.”
Mike Whitehurst was ticked off that it took seven Silver Spring Township police officers and a couple state troopers to monitor the protesters. He objected to “the overtime they have to pay because of these people.”
Still, a mock cheer broke out when the group packed up about 30 minutes into the planned 45-minute protest. The protesters ignored questions from a reporter as they walked to their car.
Jerry Girard, national vice president of the Leathernecks Motorcycle Club, wasn’t sure how much impact the veterans actually had.
“I would like to think it” convinced the Westboro protesters to leave early, he said. “But knowing those type of people, they probably just got cold.”
Legislation in the works
Pennsylvania has joined at least 17 other states seeking to restrict funeral protests in the wake of groups such as Westboro Baptist Church.
State Rep. Jennifer Mann, D-132, plans to introduce legislation — as early as next week — to limit demonstrations at funerals or memorial services.
Mann said the legislation was prompted by recent news reports of organized groups who have been disrupting funerals and memorial services for the deceased, including military personnel who died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
“It’s shameful behavior, especially at services where people who gave their lives in service to our country are being paid their last respects,” Mann said. “A mother who lost a son in the defense of our freedoms and liberties should not have to suffer the jeers of protesters.”
Under the legislation, protesters would be required to remain 500 feet from any funeral or memorial service, beginning one hour before and ending one hour after the services. First-time violators would be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor, while a subsequent violation would be a second-degree misdemeanor.
Some lawmakers fear restricting free speech with laws that must be carefully crafted to withstand court challenges. Wisconsin and South Dakota recently enacted laws limiting protests at funerals.
“Our intent is not to limit the right to free speech or peaceful protest,” Mann said. “What we want to do is preserve the dignity of the deceased and show the proper respect for their families during this difficult time.”
Calling for Air Support for a fallen soldier’s family…
Army SGT Rickey Jones, 21, of Kokomo, Ind; killed Feb. 22 when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee during patrol operations in Hawijah, Iraq
This story really pains me, and hurts me down to the core, for a number of reasons. I …
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