THERE ARE SOME SECTIONS OF TENNESSEE, REVEREND, that I would not advise you to invade:
GREENEVILLE, Tenn. – Greene County is the latest target of a Kansas church that wants to establish monuments condemning a gay man who was murdered in Wyoming in 1998.
County officials vow to fight the attempt by Fred Phelps, pastor of the Topeka, Kan., church, to put a 6-foot granite monument in the Greeneville courthouse. Phelps said if officials do not comply, his group will picket the county.
The response, basically, is “Bring ’em on!”
“If they want to come down here and picket, come on,” Greene County Mayor Roger Jones said.
They probably will. I mean, it’s not like they’ve got jobs or anything. Or maybe they do, as this story provides more evidence for my theory, expressed elsewhere, that Fred Phelps is acting suspiciously like a paid provocateur for the ACLU:
The pastor wants the monuments displayed by local governments across the country, said the church’s attorney, Shirley Phelps-Roper. She claims a 2002 court ruling requires any government entity that displays the Ten Commandments on public property to also display monuments of other religious groups.
In addition to displaying the Ten Commandments, Greene County government leaders voted recently to recognize a resolution recognizing “God as the foundation of our national heritage.” Jones sent copies of the legislation to Tennessee’s other 94 county leaders for consideration.
Hmm. If the ACLU isn’t funding him, it might as well be!
UPDATE: Reader Bart Hall emails:
I’m from Kansas, where the Phelps family is a fairly well known commodity. Their gig is this — they attempt to get a harsh reaction. That’s why they have kids holding some of the most outrageous signs.
Apart from the deomonstration they have video people to film any interaction with the public or authorities, and they have ‘tailers’ to follow people back to their car so they can get a name and address. Then they sue. For intimidation, for pain and suffering, for threatening the kids, for anything they can think of.
It’s how the Phelps family gets their money.
Ask the attorneys for any church around here. I can put you in touch with ours.
Fred may discover that he’s not in Kansas anymore. . . . .