Motorcycle club acts to protect funerals from “fundamentalist” church group

[Bob]

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.

[ManDownUnder]

Fred Phelps needs to find an entirely more appropriate time and place to protest. He's welcome to protest of course... but not at the last farewell to someone's loved one.

[placidfemme]

Yeah, theres been a huge stink blown up over this... that story has been on all the GLBT websites and a few other biker websites.

I agree, that they have the right to protest, but not when a family is mourning and saying thier farewells...

As a follow-up to that story...

Some states in the US are going to change the law to ban protests within 300 meters of a funeral, or out of earshot.

Go bikers!

[Pathos]

Thats disgusting.

Soldiers are supposed to discard their own opinions of the legallity/ethic of the war and die follow orders. Then people come and harrass their grieving family...