Righteous is as righteous does; Lexington Pride

The fanatic blogger at Righteous in Kentucky returned earlier this month after a 6 month absence; just when we thought we had one less conservative blogger, he returns. This blogger isn't just conservative however, he is a fanatic.

"A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject." - Winston Churchill

If his readers believe his posts and follow him, why trash pro-gay organizations and draw attention to them since they obviously know about us and don't like us anyway?

In his latest pro-Family Foundation of Kentucky post, he actually says he will remain inside this weekend because of Lexington Pride. He goes on to say he will have any homosexual who steps on his property arrested! Littered with religious rhetoric that makes no sense, this blogger jumps from subject to subject that makes understanding him near impossible.

Fred Phelps and his clan have stated they will protest Lexington Pride. I wouldn't could on it however; it's a long drive from Kansas to protest for only an hour, and they haven't shown up at any of the Kentucky events they claimed they would attend in years (story).

Free speech isn’t really free is it?

The Freedom of Speech is granted by the Kentucky Constitution, the U.S. Constitution, as well as the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Free speech isn’t really free is it? Millions of people have died to protect it in both Worlds Wars alone; I wouldn’t call that free, it came with a large price attached to it. Does a responsibility come with the Freedom of Speech?

After seeing post after post about Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church (www.godhatesfags.com) finally getting what they deserve (a federal court has ordered liens against the Westboro Baptist Church, which recently lost a $5 Million Dollar civil suit).

The church expresses the idea that nearly every tragedy in the world is linked to homosexuality – specifically society's increasing tolerance and acceptance of the "Homosexual Agenda." The group maintains that God hates homosexuals above all other kinds of "sinners" and that homosexuality should be a capital crime.

The Kentucky General Assembly enacted legislation to protect Kentuckians from the Phelps clan during funerals; the ACLU however did not agree with the legislation, sued the Commonwealth, and ultimately the law was considered unconstitutional.

The United States First Amendment grants absolute freedom of speech, placing the burden upon each state to demonstrate when (if) a limitation of this freedom is necessary, such as the examples below:

• Defamation (slander and libel)
• Product defamation (criticism of commercial products; sometimes called product libel or product disparagement)
• Threats
• Lying in court (perjury)
• Public use and/or disclosure of anything covered by a confidentiality agreement
• Talking out of turn during a trial, or talk that causes contempt of court
• Speaking publicly without a permit (not enforceable in Kentucky; see the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky)
• Speaking publicly outside of a free speech zone (not enforceable in Kentucky; see the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Kentucky)
• Company secrets (trade secrets), such as how a product is made or company strategy.
• Lies that cause a crowd to panic or causes Clear and present danger or Imminent lawless action, such as shouting fire in a crowded theater
• Fighting words doctrine: "insulting or 'fighting words', those that by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace"
• Treason: to talk publicly of the death of all citizens or the overthrow of the state (the act of treason against the state of punishable by death in the Commonwealth of Kentucky).

Should the Westboro Baptist Church be permitted to protest funerals and gay pride events? Don’t the people present have the right to assemble without being interrupted? What about the mental anguish involved in being protested against (which is why the Westboro Baptist Church has been ordered to pay out $5 Million Dollars)?

If we don't believe in free expression for people we despise, does this mean we don’t believe in it at all?

Do we have a responsibility to use the freedom of speech in a responsible way?

Westboro Baptist Church ordered to pay $11 Million!

Many would call this justice:

The verdict against Fred Phelps and his daughters pleases Julie MacKenzie of Colorado, whose son's funeral was picketed by the hate group.

"I think it's great," MacKenzie said Wednesday. The November 2005 military funeral in Greeley for her 20-year-old son, Tyler MacKenzie, was targeted by Phelps' group.

"Our Constitution guarantees the right of free speech, but there's also a responsibility for that right," she said. "You've got to accept the consequences of your actions."

Kentucky is no stranger to the “Phelps Clan” (story). Phelps and the church first came to national attention when he organized a protest by his followers outside the 1998 funeral for Matthew Shepherd, the gay college student who was beaten to death in Wyoming.

Church members routinely demonstrate at the funerals of people with AIDS and most recently at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq.

The Kentucky House and Senate passed a law to restrict funeral picketing, a law later struck down in court after being challenged by the ACLU.

KY's largest Methodist Church bars gays from membership.

Click here for the complete story from Bible Belt Blogger.

Anti-gay Christians miss message.

Anti-gay Christians miss message. Click here to read the article by Staff reporter Kevin Eigelbach who writes on religion for The Cincinnati Post and Kentucky Post.

Support rally in Berea tomorrow at a soldier's funeral to counter Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church.

Kentucky Equality Federation will participate in a counter protest in Berea tomorrow at the Berea Baptist Church.

The Westboro Baptist Church, ran by Fred Phelps and family will be picketing the funeral of Private First Class Theodore M. West. The Phelps "clan" own websites such as www.gothatesfags.com, and www.godhatescanada.com.

The Westboro Baptist Church pickets funerals nationwide with the message "Thank God for AIDS," "Thank God for Weapons of Mass Destruction," and "Your Son is Burning in Hell."

In an email message with the Berea Baptist Church, Kentucky Equality Federation President Jordan Palmer said "Phelps and his "clan" in my opinion use the word of God to spread hate and intolerance. I personally believe he will have a lot to answer for when he stands before God in Judgment. But, that is only my opinion. I'm not qualified to be his Judge because this is an act reserved by God himself.

Palmer also stated "Regardless of how Theodore M. West died, he did so in defense in the ideals the founders of our commonwealth and our republic laid before us. He died in our defense, and fought so other generations could enjoy the democracy of both the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the entire United States of America."

Palmer told Berea Baptist Church Senior Pastor Kevin Slemp that regardless of the political and spiritual differences the Berea Baptist Church and Kentucky Equality Federation may or may not have, he hoped they could agree the message the Phelps "clan" was sending was wrong.

Slemp responded to Palmer's communication by stating "I share your outrage at their protest. Personally, I would be supportive of your counter-protest. We are already expecting counter-protesters called the 'Patriot Guard Riders.' Given their planned participation, and the fact that Governor Fletcher and perhaps Congressman Chandler might also attend, we will already have quite a busy event. On Wednesday, my associate minister and myself met with officers of the Berea Police and the Kentucky State Police to prepare, and I would certainly want them to be fully informed of any additional counter-protests. My hope is that we will be able to prevent this event from having a circus-like atmosphere for the sake of the family. Thank you so much for the care and consideration you have expressed for the West family."

Kentucky Equality Federation shares the concern of the Berea Baptist Church of not turning a funeral into a "circus-like event." Federation President Palmer and Federation Alliance Manager Clarence Wallace would like to remind all members and participants that we will stand without speaking; this remains a personal funeral and we must respect the fact that family members are in mourning.

"Kentucky Equality Federation continues to coordinate details of the event with the Kentucky Fairness Alliance, the Berea Police Department, and the Kentucky State Police." stated Palmer.

Kentucky Equality Federation asks its members who wish to participate visit a local store a purchase two hand held flags; please hold the Flag of the Commonwealth in one hand, and the Flag of the United States of America in the other.

If anyone would like to convey a religious message, please use "Love your neighbor as yourself."

Anyone wishing to participate with Kentucky Equality Federation should meet us at First Christian Church in Berea, KY at 11 AM on Saturday for a briefing with the Berea Police Department. The First Christian Church is located across the street from Berea City Hall in Madison County.

Federation management scheduled to attend include:
- Jordan Palmer, President
- Brian Endicott, Vice President
- Clarence Wallace, Membership & Alliance Manager
- Nancy Couch, Secretary of the Federation
- Nick Herweck, Northern Kentucky Chapter President
- Jesse Alexander, Awareness Representative At-Large