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Military Funeral Protesters, HB 333, and SB 93

What can you do?

By Jeff “Mario” Smith, Guerilla Reporter

While I have serious problems with President Bush’s open border and loose immigration stance, his inability to find his Veto Pen, and his big government spending boondoggle, I am glad that we are taking the war against terror to the enemy. We are acting like a magnet to these jihadists in Iraq and Afghanistan, and we are killing them by the tens of thousands, almost as if we installed a giant piece of fly paper there. The idea that communist supporter John “Ho Chi” Kerry was almost at the helm is unfathomable. Although, it would be nice to have a more active role in the battle getting our own licks in, it certainly is more practical to fight them in their lands, and this we are doing. The finest young men and women in the world go to a dirty country and do dirty work that most Americans could not begin to contemplate, and we owe them big.

We have been blessed with a President who is standing strong against pressure from liberals to acquiesce to demands from terrorists. This is what liberals did in the wars against communism, so this is merely an old playbook reissued. I haven’t been listening too well to the shenanigans in Congress the past couple of weeks, but it would not surprise me if some demonrat up there hasn’t already demanded of President Bush that he negotiate with bin Laden. After all, this sickly little white robed caveman, who is responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent Americans and others, has offered us a truce. I have what shouldn’t be news for these demonrats in Congress who want America to develop weak knees like France. We are already negotiating. Young men in desert camouflage with M4’s, SAW’s, and sniper rifles are negotiating successfully while you enjoy cocktails with your spineless friends in high places denigrating everything they do.

As our military men and women in harm’s way do the dirty work that must be done when evil serpents rise up against the God-endowed Liberty of people everywhere, limp-wristed men and women in Congress, Hollyweird, and in the mainstream media are calling for a withdrawal from the Middle East so terrorists can resume their control of those nations in the name of some false god who allegedly offers a child molestation paradise in heaven to those who commit suicide in his name. These nuts have no respect for the God given miracle of life, not even their own. No wonder they are still living in the fifth century.

My son served in Iraq the first year with the 37^th Engineer Battalion, COMBAT, AIRBORNE, attached to the 101^st AIRBORNE, and is slated to return in 06 with the 82^nd AIRBORNE. The toughest thing I have had to do since 9-11 is to attend the funerals of our fallen heroes killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have broken down while speaking with teary-eyed Moms and Dads who will no longer enjoy the company of their offspring. Nobody should have to bury their offspring, and I have witnessed this so much that these demonrats and other associated liberals and socialists need to get down on their hands and knees and praise the Lord that I fear Him. You can take that to the bank. I cannot fathom how these leftist people can be so disrespectful.

The epitome of this lack of respect comes from the latest in a long line of false preachers. His name is Fred Phelps and his minions have a new nickname, The Phelps Phreaks. These home grown nuts from Westboro, Kansas specialize in attending funerals and memorial services for our fallen heroes and protesting. Their deeds of hate are celebrated at their website. That’s right; these hateful people who falsely claim to be a “church” are showing up at funerals and memorial services with signs saying things I will not repeat in this article. Suffice it to say if it were your son or daughter who just lost their life at a young age for the freedoms of others, you would want to ring their necks.

Alas, we cannot do that. Our God, who is love and forgiveness, tells us we must forgive them for they know not what they do. That is a very hard command to follow, but we must do it. However, He didn’t say we can’t fight back and we are also doing that. In Frankfort, KY, right now, there are two bills up for consideration by our elected representatives, and don’t ever forget that they are elected and they have to listen to you, the constituent. That is their job and we have to make them do it. If we don’t speak up, we deserve what we get. The bills of which I write herein are SB 93 and HB 333.

After asking my representative, Bob Damron to do something about these protests making them illegal, and making specific recommendations, his associate Mike Weaver introduced HB 333 to address the problem. While I don’t think this bill, or its exact clone SB 93 on the Senate side, do enough, they are a start and we must do something now. We must protect and shield the families and friends of our heroes from these nuts from Kansas. Let them say when they come to Kentucky, “Fellow phreaks, we aren’t in Kansas anymore.”

We already have a law in Kentucky addressing this but without specific language for funerals and memorial services. That law is KRS 525-150. In layman’s terms this law states it is a crime in Kentucky to disrupt a meeting or assembly and “make(s) any utterance, gesture or display designed to outrage the sensibilities of the group.” That is enough in itself to arrest these people for their assaults against grieving families but our community leaders across the state continue to issue them protest permits. That is hard to believe, but it is happening. Then, to make matters worse, our law enforcement is not arresting them. Not until these phreaks came to the patriotic community of Stanton, KY, in Powell County, did law enforcement finally issue multiple warrants for their arrest, and then only after they assaulted a disabled Vietnam Veteran who was shielding the family from their assaults.

Thus we must strengthen this law, publicize it, and educate law enforcement. SB 93, introduced by Senator Tom Buford whose son is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Navy Veteran, and HB 333 seek to strengthen this already existing law with more serious penalties and specifically address funerals, memorial services, and funeral processions, of not just our military heroes, but everyone. As vehemently as I want to see our enemies destroyed, I would never contemplate disrupting their funerals and family mourning times to make my political or religious points. That is just sick.

For the full text on SB 93 or HB 333, go here:

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/06RS/SB93/bill.doc  [SB 93]

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/record/06RS/HB333/bill.doc [HB 333]

For the PDF file on KRS 525.150 go here:

http://www.lrc.ky.gov/KRS/525-00/150.PDF

Expose on Phreak Fred Phelps:

http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/michael_haggerty/expose3.htm

To stand with Patriots, Veterans, and other Americans who shield the grieving families:

www.patriotguard.org

To contact your Kentucky legislators:

Call 1-800-372-7181 and ask to leave a message for ALL Senators and Representatives.

Or… go here: http://www.lrc.ky.gov/whoswho/whoswho.htm

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