Bob
19th February 2006, 23:50
A motorcycle group, known as the Patriot Guard Riders is taking action – with the permission of the families affected – to prevent a fundamentalist church group from protesting their beliefs at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq.
The church group, led by Rev. Fred Phelps, believes U.S. deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that “harbors” homosexuals. Phelps followers have been disrupting funerals, carrying signs with comments like "Thank God for IEDs [makeshift bombs]."
The Patriot Guard Riders – largely made up of military veterans - shield the families from the protesters and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a display of red-white-and-blue flags. "The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."
The church, not affiliated with a larger denomination, is made up mostly of Phelps's extended relatives.
The church group, led by Rev. Fred Phelps, believes U.S. deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that “harbors” homosexuals. Phelps followers have been disrupting funerals, carrying signs with comments like "Thank God for IEDs [makeshift bombs]."
The Patriot Guard Riders – largely made up of military veterans - shield the families from the protesters and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a display of red-white-and-blue flags. "The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."
The church, not affiliated with a larger denomination, is made up mostly of Phelps's extended relatives.