Thank You again

I wanted to once again thank The Patriot Guard Riders for the wonderful work they are doing on behalf of fallen soldiers. This group of men and women are a Godsend to the families not only devastated by the loss of a loved one, but also verbally, emotionally destroyed by Fred Phelps and the member of his church, Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan.

We can only hope that the protesting being done by Phelps and his follower’s leads to federal criminal laws enacted prohibiting future actions such as this.

I have been following the news and cannot understand how Phelps is claiming First Amendment rights in his protesting. Let alone how these rights are even being considered. The umbrella of free speech protection does not transcend into the domain of private property. This would be the same as someone standing in the front yard of your home protesting against you. Yes, the First Amendment dictates he has the right to utter his disagreement through the right to gather peacefully and do so. But to be within the realm of the law he would have to stand on public property. Still, if city, county or state law stipulated a permit be issued for a lawful gathering, then he would need to have that permit in his possession. Here again we have a problem. Creating a disturbance is not peacefully gathering and now falls under criminal statutes.

A cemetery is private property; the burial plot is private property. Phelps and his people are not protected under the First Amendment on private property. Also I do not understand why local law enforcement within that area is not enforcing violations stemming from the civil disturbance they are creating and directly responsible for. There are many laws being broken with disorderly conduct but one of them.

The Patriot Guard Riders should be publicly commended for the service they are providing. Again, thank you from a fellow vet.

If anyone would like to volunteer his or her time, The Patriot Guard Riders web site is:http://www.patriotguard.org/