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Newtown local community prevents God Hates Fags church from picketing Sandy Hook school shooting funerals

Dec 22 2012
Written by PinkNews.co.uk Staff Writer

The Westboro Baptist Church, home of the God Hates Fags campaign was reportedly scared away this week from protesting at the funerals of some of the children massacred at the Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

The group had announced that it would picket the funerals of twenty children and six adults who were murdered at the school. Most of the children that were killed were aged between six and seven.

The church blames gay rights for anything bad that happens to America or Americans and specifically focused on the fact that the state of Connecticut offers gay couples the legal right to marry.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, the attorney daughter of the church’s founder Fred Phelps Tweeted: “Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.” The hacking group Anonymous, recently filed a death certificate for her and changed her PC’s background to gay porn in retaliation.

Another church member Tweeted” “God Almighty smacked USA with #Sandy & she’s brazen in her sin still; THEN He gives you a right hook – make that #SandyHook! #RepentingYet??”

Fellow church member Fred Phelps junior Tweeted: “Beautiful work of an angry God who told Wisconsin to keep their filthy hands off his people (WBC)!”

According to local news source, Newtown Patch, motorcyclists lined up on Wednesday and other days that funerals were due to take place in order to block the route that the Westboro Baptist Church members intended to picket.

US news website the Examiner spoke to the motel that the group was staying in and was told: “I can’t put you through to those rooms. I wish those people weren’t staying here. I hate them and what they stand for.”

Eyewitnesses said that firefighters and police officers donned plain clothes and positioned themselves to block any God Hates Fags protestors on the scene from coming into contact with the families and friends of those who were being buried.

The church reportedly left the area and did not mount a protest, despite its continual claims on social media that it would disturb the funerals.

Earlier in the week, the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) became the unlikely people to prevent another God Hates Fags demonstration, at the Arlington National Cemetery.

Last year, the Supreme Court, with a majority of eight to one, ruled that the church should be allowed to picket funerals by relying on their First Amendment rights to free speech.

In 2009, the British Government placed a ban on members of the church entering the UK due to their attitude to homosexuality.