----- Original Message -----
From: dana tierney
To: CF-Community
Sent: Wednesday, September 15, 2004 5:04 PM
Subject: this must be a spoof?
My source: highly dubious. But *they* are taking it seriously. Can
someone please reassure me that this organization is fake, supposed to
be funny, or somehow not for real?
September 8, 6:30 p.m.
Anti-Gay Hate Group Plans Montgomery Demonstration
A national anti-gay group has chosen Alabama as its
next target.
Demonstrators are expected in Montgomery next month to
"celebrate" the
murders of two Alabama gay men. And while in town,
they'll pay a visit
to their long-time rival, the Southern Poverty Law
Center, an
organization that monitors hate groups.
Westboro Baptist Church is an independent church in
Topeka, Kansas
which is known for its demonstrations using signs with
offensive
anti-gay slogans. The organization gained national
attention six years
ago, following the murder of Matthew Shepard, a young
gay man from
Wyoming, when it picketed outside Shepard's funeral.
More recently, church members brought their message to
the Republican
National Convention in New York. They maintain that
gays and lesbians
deserve to die because they are violating Biblical
teachings. The
group is led by Fred Phelps.
"It is difficult to imagine any person in this world
thinking more
about gay sex more than Fred Phelps and his
followers," says Mark
Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the
Southern Poverty
Law Center.
Potok describes Phelps' organization as a hate group.
In fact, he says
Phelps released a statement following 9/11, explaining
that the
victims of the terrorist attacks were killed because
of their
"fag-enabling" ways.
According to a press release from church members,
their upcoming trip
will celebrate the sixth anniversary of Shepard's
murder and the
recent murders of two gay men in Alabama. "It's plain
and simple. It's
another victory," explains Potok. "God has struck down
another gay
man. If that's not cause for celebration, what is?
That's the attitude
of Westboro Baptist Church."
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