By Garret EllisonReligion News Service
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (RNS) The anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church has announced plans to picket this week's funeral services for former first lady Betty Ford in California and Michigan.
The website of the Topeka, Kansas-based church said the fringe group will demonstrate at Ford's funerals because she divorced her first husband William Warren prior to marrying the late president Gerald R. Ford.
The website of the Topeka, Kansas-based church said the fringe group will demonstrate at Ford's funerals because she divorced her first husband William Warren prior to marrying the late president Gerald R. Ford.
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Of all the reckless behavior I have seen or heard of; these people are triumphant as the victors. Who do these people think they are?
ReplyDeleteThis woman was the wife of a U.S. president; she was courageous in speaking out concerning her own personal demons of addiction; and not only that but she founded a center which served patients with addictions; which in turn saved a lot of families.
Betty Ford is a representation of a woman who cared about and for others; and one well appreciated by many. This church has the nerve to call this woman a “whore”. By whose standards are they using to pass judgment on this beautiful person? Oh, I forgot the Supreme Court gave them the “red light” to pull another one of their ludicrous stunts of picketing the funerals of those Westboro Church has sentenced to a moral death. They have no reason to be angry with this woman or the others whose funerals they have picketed for no just cause.
I'm sure the cloud of witnesses is in deep distress over this ministry and then again they may not be. They can’t possibly be representing the God of the Holy Bible; nor His WORD. They hide behind the "Freedom of Speech" to promote hate along with the outlandish behavior they exhibit on behalf of the church. Their unrestricted denigration of this woman is an offense to her family and others who love and respect her. Westboro’s intent is to blacken her memory and to provoke a breach of peace between people. Is this the teaching of THEIR bible? This will NOT expose her family to public hatred, contempt or ridicule. In fact, it will accomplish just the opposite. This recent threat to picket another funeral exposes them to those things and cause people to wonder about churches as a whole.
The First Amendment, a law created by man is a luxury afforded to all, and as such should be preserved and used justly and with that use comes an understanding of our inherent responsibilities. It was not intended to give license to use false words as a weapon to inflict mortal harm on the mind, body and soul of another or destroy the eternal legacy which all of us leaves behind. There is an even greater law for those who believe; it is the law of our Creator given to us to abide. “Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.”
There are five states (Colorado, Idaho, Georgia, Louisiana, and Nevada) that have criminal statues regarding defamation of the dead and we, Cadeflaw, intend to increase that number to fifty.
Follow us on twitter @cadeflaw and let’s make that change. Let’s lobby for a bill that will “Protect and Preserve” the Legacy of the deceased. Let’s stop offenders like the Westboro Baptist Church from hiding behind the “First Amendment” to promote hate.
Visit our website at: www.cadeflaw.com and sign the petition at
http://www.change.org/petitions/protect-and-preserve-the-legacy-of-those-deceased-those-left-behind-can-still-be-hurt
Mary, You said it all. Thank You! this really sadden me. I don't understand these peoples at all. First our Soldiers. and now our past president wife. What is this world coming too. These peoples need to get somewhere and do something with the time they have on their hands. May God Bless Us All......
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