Is Westboro Baptist Church A "Hate Group"?

[ABM]

More than some are seeking to classify it as such.

http://news.yahoo.com/petition-urges-white-house-classify-westboro-church-hate-192906943.html

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 475,000 people have signed petitions asking the White House to crack down on Westboro Baptist Church after the group, known for holding anti-gay demonstrations at funerals, threatened to picket in Newtown, Connecticut.

Newtown was the site of a school massacre on December 14 in which 20 young children and six adults were killed.

Five petitions posted on the White House website since the shootings have asked the government to name the church, based in Topeka, Kansas, as a hate group or end its tax-exempt status. The requests were among the most popular on the White House site on Thursday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization, has called the church "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America" because of the anti-gay signs its members have carried at hundreds of military funerals. The protests reflect their view that God is punishing America for tolerance of gays and lesbians.

The church has successfully defended its right to free speech in court. The church could not be immediately reached for comment.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether it would address the petitions.

The White House has a policy of responding to petitions that reach a threshold of 25,000 signatures but does not comment on certain law enforcement issues that are within the jurisdiction of federal agencies or courts, according to its website..............

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

"God sent the shooter" - Phelps family on Sandy Hook.

I think it's obvious.

 

[3RA1N1AC]

they have 40 members...

i mean yeah they suck and all but all we need to do is stop talking about them

 

[Natebishop3]

They aren't even a real church. They're just out trolling people to get them to do something stupid so they can file a lawsuit. It's too bad one of these shooters don't turn their guns on the WBC.

 

[Fez Hammersticks]

"God" should have sent the shooter to WBC.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

I would say they are a hate group. I think they crave publicity more than anything else.

 

[RR7]

Now, now. Let's not trample on their first amendment rights.

 

[DaLincolnJones]

I would say they are a hate group. I think they crave publicity more than anything else.

yeah..but as I have seen here, we hve people that wish death on others as well..so I guess westboro is no better or no worse than some on this board..that is sad.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

yeah..but as I have seen here, we hve people that wish death on others as well..so I guess westboro is no better or no worse than some on this board..that is sad.

How true.

 

[Natebishop3]

yeah..but as I have seen here, we hve people that wish death on others as well..so I guess westboro is no better or no worse than some on this board..that is sad.

If I have to choose between a gunman killing 20 six year olds and a bunch of hateful biggots, I choose the biggots.

 

[julius]

If they're allowed to be a tax exempt "church", than I want to convert myself into a church and become tax exempt.

and I'll totally be preaching love and peace and the teachings of some invisible dude too.

 

[EL PRESIDENTE]

Is RubeChat a "hate group"? :MARIS61:

 

[jlprk]

The White House has a policy of responding to petitions that reach a threshold of 25,000 signatures

When did Obama begin this stupid policy? It first came to light after the election, and has been in every domestic issue in the last 7 weeks.

 

[julius]

When did Obama begin this stupid policy? It first came to light after the election, and has been in every domestic issue in the last 7 weeks.

I don't think it's a stupid policy. It allows for people to voice their opinion, have it look like the President gives a shit what they say while ignoring them, and we move on with our lives.

 

[Denny Crane]

They're despicable, of course. Yet I seem to remember lefties applauding them and the 1st amendment when they were protesting at the funerals of fallen Iraq War soldiers when W was president.

Maybe we should wait for Jon Stewart to pass judgment on our behalf.

 

[julius]

They're despicable, of course. Yet I seem to remember lefties applauding them and the 1st amendment when they were protesting at the funerals of fallen Iraq War soldiers when W was president.

Maybe we should wait for Jon Stewart to pass judgment on our behalf.

I like how you're making a subtle (factually wrong) implication about the "left" here, nicely done.

 

[Denny Crane]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html

shocking

 

[ABM]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html

There's something almost paradoxical about that report.

 

[NJNetz]

They just like to troll.

 

[Haakzilla]

They just like to troll.

...as fucked up as their messages are, they are just building their "brand". While they may only have 40 actual members, it appears as though they generate a lot of income from their various websites.

Denny's servers wouldn't know what to do if S2 had this kind of "free" publicity!

 

[julius]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html

That's what you consider "applauding"?

And one group does not speak for all.

Freedom of speech does not just apply for those who agree with you.

 

[Denny Crane]

That's what you consider "applauding"?

And one group does not speak for all.

Freedom of speech does not just apply for those who agree with you.

SCOTUS rules WestBoro has 1st amendment rights to do the things it does. I agree with the ruling. Doesn't mean I have to like, in the least, what WestBoro does.

But when they and people like Cindy (Occupied New Orleans) Sheehan were being a PITA for the military or the previous administration, it was easy to look the other way or applaud. Or going back just a little further, I'm sure you remember it was Ronald Reagan spitting on GIs returning from Vietnam.

In any case, I'm quite consistent. I think they were vile then and are vile now.

 

[MARIS61]

They aren't even a real church. They're just out trolling people to get them to do something stupid so they can file a lawsuit. It's too bad one of these shooters don't turn their guns on the WBC.

They are as "real" as a any other church. They just can't attract many members for some unfathomable reason...

 

[MARIS61]

As for "hate group" and "hate crime", those terms don't belong anywhere in our legal system if it is to survive.

When half a million people call on the President to take action against 3 dozen not-very-bright homophobes for simply voicing their opinion, you know Freedom of Speech is dead in America. Only The Second Amendment, bruised and battered as it is, stands between Real Americans and their looming slavery.

 

[crandc]

Applauded them? No one applauded them. Saying someone has a constitutional right to even the most despicable speech is not applauding them.

But don't let facts get in the way of a good slander.

 

[julius]

SCOTUS rules WestBoro has 1st amendment rights to do the things it does. I agree with the ruling. Doesn't mean I have to like, in the least, what WestBoro does.
But when they and people like Cindy (Occupied New Orleans) Sheehan were being a PITA for the military or the previous administration, it was easy to look the other way or applaud. Or going back just a little further, I'm sure you remember it was Ronald Reagan spitting on GIs returning from Vietnam.

In any case, I'm quite consistent. I think they were vile then and are vile now.

I think when people were supporting Cindy Sheehan, they were supporting her right to do it. I support their right to do it too. I think most "lefts" do.

You're confusing issues, imho. And doing it on purpose.

 

[RR7]

Applaud? Bullshit. Supporting someone's first amendment right is not applauding what they use it for. Unless you applaud people who shoot up schools. Because you support their 2nd amendment right. So Denny, quit applauding kids dying.

 

[Denny Crane]

I think when people were supporting Cindy Sheehan, they were supporting her right to do it. I support their right to do it too. I think most "lefts" do.

You're confusing issues, imho. And doing it on purpose.

I think nobody would even know about Westboro if they hadn't been war protesters. That was enough for the media to promote the hell out of them.

I get that you don't see it. So be it.

 

[Denny Crane]

So a few hundred thousand people sign a petition to label Westboro a hate group. Them and their 40 members.

SMH.

Family Research Council has 450,000 members and they say terrible and untrue things about gay people.

Where's the outrage against the 450,000 group? They weren't anti-war, that's why.

Get it?