Anti-gay group's protest falls short of disrupting funeral
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
The Westboro Baptist Church members have a right to spew their message of hate, but they picked the wrong place and wrong time to do it.About 10 members of the anti-homosexual group from Topeka, Kan., came to Galesburg Tuesday to protest outside the funeral of Kyle B. Wehrly, Galesburg's first soldier to die in combat since 1970.
Instead of showing reverence for a man who died serving his country, the group planned to exploit the funeral in order to get its message out. Knowing that soldiers' funerals draw media - five TV stations were in Galesburg for Wehrly's services - the group creates a spectacle and hopes for media access. They leech off the funerals of soldiers.
But it's not just the media access that draws them to the funerals. They believe the deaths of these brave Americans is God's way of retaliating against an America that has been taken over by homosexuals.
The Westboro Baptist Church members also say homosexuals run the military. The group propels messages that God hates homosexuals, the military and America. Further, the group believes many tragedies, such as Hurricane Katrina, are linked to society's increasing tolerance of gay, lesbian and bisexual behavior.
The group's members stood along Academy Street Tuesday carrying signs with slurs against homosexuals and celebrating the deaths of soldiers.
American soldiers and, in this case, the Wehrly family deserve better than this. Their lives have been shaken and forever changed by a tragedy. To disrupt their grief on the day they are paying their respects is more than insensitive, it's reprehensible.
"There is never a bad time to get the message out," one Westboro member told a Register-Mail reporter Tuesday. "It's about spreading the message."
She's wrong. Though the First Amendment grants the group the right to say what it will when it will, the group obviously crosses the decency line on many fronts - the group's despicable disregard for the grieving families of soldiers among them.
But just as the First Amendment protects the rights of protesters, so does it protect the rights of those protesting the protesters.
Fortunately, the Wehrly family did not have to see the group's messages of hate because local protesters came to the rescue. About 20 members of two Knox College groups, Common Ground and the Alliance for Peaceful Action, and others lined the street in front of the protesters to block the view from those attending the service.
"We wanted to stand in front of them, so people don't have to see it," said Ron Chernobrov, who organized the counter protest.
The Westboro group yelled phrases of hate at the students, but the students remained silent, speaking only with their presence, which muted the disruption the Westboro group had hoped for.
Free speech is powerful. Give credit to the local counter protesters who chose to use it to protect those who were grieving for a hero. - Tom Martin, editor
