WASHINGTON, D.C. – A White House petition created only a couple of weeks ago with nearly 300,000 signatures seeks to have the Obama Administration recognize the controversial Westboro Baptist Church as a hate group.
The petition claims that Westboro “has been recognized as a hate group by organizations, such as The Southern Poverty Law Center, and has repeatedly displayed the actions typical of hate groups.
“Their actions have been directed at many groups, including homosexuals, military, Jewish people and even other Christians. They pose a threat to the welfare and treatment of others and will not improve without some form of imposed regulation.”
The petition was created on December 14th, 2012, the same day as the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, which claimed the lives of 20 school children. Westboro tweeted later this month that “What happened at Sandy Hook was unfortunate and tragic; However, it happened because our nation has turned away from God.”
This online petition has by far the most signatures (297,934) on the White House’s online petition website. The White House says is will respond to any petition with over 25,000 signatures.
The church, located in Topeka, Kansas, and its followers are notorious for picketing and demonstrating at funerals for military and child victims.
The latest tweet from a Westboro Church associate was from Pastor Fred Phelps’ daughter, Abigail, who said today “Imagine if u hypocrites had responded to abortion, adultery, idolatry and fag marriage like u do to persecuting Westboro Baptist Church.”
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In my opinion they certainly qualify as a hate group. Can you possibly imagine how the family’s of a military person killed while fighting for our coutry feels when this group of haters show up at the funeral? I don’t know what I would do if it was one of my family but I suspect it would not be pretty.
So if an organization does something that is legally protected by the constitution, but is not liked by a certain group of people, that organization should be labeled a hate group?
If a group of people does legally protected hateful things (in the name of religion none the less) should they be classified as a hate group? Well…YES!
So we should start labeling groups just because we don’t like them. Interesting. And just who died and made you god??
Accurate labels would probably do society some good.
And who would be the ones to judge these people/groups so they would be accurately labeled? Who would be so perfect, so god-like, so free of sin or fault to say, “You are good”, or “You are evil”. Have fun looking, my friend, for I feel you have a long search ahead of you.
Last time I checked, it was the Westboro Baptist Church that claimed to know the will of God and felt justified in protesting veterans funerals. That is a hateful act perpetrated by a group.
Request you enter your name and phone number. Next time I have a party, I will be able to save a lot of liquor money by having you change some water into wine for me. Have a happy New Year.
Wasn’t it the Black Panthers that put a bounty on Zimmermans head? Before he had even had a trial or found guilty of anything.
@BobbyG, John and Midwest – you all three show what you are by just making those asinine statements/
Members of a group called the New Black Panther Party are offering a $10,000 reward for the “capture and citizens arrest” of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch coordinator who shot Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., on Feb. 26.
New Black Panther members announced the reward during a weekend protest near the gated neighborhood where the incident took place.
“We cannot sit back as men and allow Zimmerman to remain free and on the loose because he is a danger to himself and others … We must use our constitutional rights and Florida law to organize a citizens arrest in order to see that justice is done,” said group spokesman Chawn Kweli, according to a press statement on the group’s website.”
Yes, Jason, you can prove that those things happen. Now, what about all the hate groups that have bounties out on the President, and all the anti-abortionist groups who have bounties out on doctors and nurses who perform abortions? Isolated incidents do not make your point. I have never seen any person from the White House advocate for the New Black Panther group. The only reason these guys mentioned it is because of the race of our President. That is racism.
Why do people/groups have to be labeled? Racist, anti-semitic, anti-gay, hate group. They are entitled to their opinions. Just because they don’t agree with someone elses beliefs does not mean they are wrong. After all, it’s supposed to be a free country.
the problem comes when they start to infringe on someone elses privacy and in some cases I think there rights
They are haters but not a hate group. I think their leader protests too much.
Wonder if the White House thinks the New Black Panthers is a hate group.
@Midwest, of course Obama doesn’t think the Black Panthers are a hate group. No problem there, time for a group hug.