NTKG, Reporting

U.K. bars entry to anti-gay American preacher

sds:

complicatedshoes:

lfarm:

LONDON - An anti-gay U.S. Christian preacher and his daughter have been barred from entering Britain as they could spread “extremism and hatred,” the British government said Thursday.

The Rev. Fred Phelps, founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas, had been due in Britain to protest at a play about the murder of a gay man.

But British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said she had decided to prevent Phelps and his daughter Shirley Phelps-Roper from entering the country.

This is great news. Fred Phelps is an awful human being. Most Kansans have had a run in of their own, or know someone who has dealt with Phelps. If you haven’t seen it, and are interested, I suggest you watch Fall From Grace.

(article here)

Whether or not you agree with anything he says, or whether or not he’s an awful human being, it’s kind of shocking you’d support denying him the opportunity to protest.  You don’t have to agree with someone to support their civil liberties.

For the record, I also think he’s a pretty dispicable person.  But just because I disapprove of what he says or how he says it does not mean we should not defend his right to say it.

Agreed. While I also despise Phelps, were he an anonyblogger on tumblr that got the boot, I’d support his reinstatement. The right to free speech and to protest are paramount.

let him go. the more he opens his mouth, the better it is for our cause. however, i don’t think Britain has the same freedom of speech as the US.

I like our way of handling him in the US: get a bunch of bikers to go between him and whatever he’s protesting (military funeral, perhaps?) and just rev their harley’s really really loud so the people he’s protesting can’t hear the stupid shit that comes out of his mouth.

did i ever mention that my mom has a harley? my dad had one when i was growing up too. bikers are awesome.