I can't bellieve that some people are actually doing this.

I am nobody · 11-07-2007, 08:46 PM

November 3, 2007
Section: NEWS
Edition: Final
Page: A1, A2

For Seaford folks, verdict in Pa. funeral protest is fair
KRISTIN HARTY
Staff

By KRISTIN HARTY

The News Journal

Allen Dunn felt the fury rising in his gut that day, a year and a half ago, when Seaford buried a hometown Marine.

Demonstrators from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church huddled together with their signs.

"God Hates Fags."

"Fags Doom Nations."

"Thank God for Dead Soldiers," some of the signs read.

Then one of the demonstrators smiled at Dunn and spit on the American flag.

"Can't you do anything about that?" Dunn asked one of the dozens of policemen protecting the protesters.

"Not a thing," the policeman said.

Last week, a federal court found that Phelps' controversial church had broken the law during a similar protest two months before Seaford buried 21-year-old Cpl. Cory Palmer in May 2006.

A jury awarded close to $11 million to Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., saying the family's privacy had been invaded when church members picketed the funeral of their son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, 20. The church's activities were "extreme and outrageous" and led to severe emotional distress, the jury said.

In Seaford, residents didn't wait for a court to decide whether Phelps' church was out of line. They pronounced their verdict May 21, 2006, when more than a thousand gathered to shout down the dozen demonstrators at Gateway Park, three blocks from Palmer's funeral at St. John's United Methodist Church. They revved engines and honked horns, hurled insults and waved flags.

As the 45-minute demonstration neared its end, the crowd pressed forward toward the van that would carry the Kansas church members out of town.

Dunn, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, looked inside and saw that same smiling face that had spit on the flag a few moments before. He slammed his fist into the glass.

"It just exploded," said Dunn, 58, of Seaford, one of four adults arrested that day. "I didn't mean to bust the window out, but that old boy just looked out and grinned. ... I'm an ex-Marine. That just cut me to the core."

Seaford Police Chief Gary Morris, who was in the middle of the melee, called it one of "one of the most intense emotional situations I've ever personally witnessed."

The fundamentalist Christian church believes God is punishing America because of its tolerance of homosexuality. Its 75 members are mostly members of the Phelps family.

In Seaford, town leaders had been advised by attorneys that they must issue the group a permit to honor the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. They chose Gateway Park because it was out of sight and earshot of the church where family and friends said goodbye to Palmer.

Hundreds of people formed a corridor of flags along the street, softly singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and reciting the Lord's Prayer.

Cory Palmer's mother, Danna, never saw or heard the protesters, but she knew they were there.

"Our city had forewarned us of that," she said. "They took extreme measures to protect us from that."

About a year ago, someone contacted the Palmers to ask whether they wanted to join in Snyder's lawsuit against the church. They declined.

"We contemplated it, and my husband said, 'It's probably a futile challenge,' " said Danna Palmer, adding that she "wasn't in any condition" to pursue a lawsuit at the time. "I admire his courage in doing that."

She said the family is grateful that townspeople like Dunn stood up against the protesters. Dunn knows the Palmer family and played softball with Cory's dad.

After Dunn's arrest, a local attorney took his case pro bono and the charges were later dropped. His brother-in-law wrote the city a check for $1,700 to pay for damage to the city's van.

"I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did, but I would do it again," said Dunn, a construction worker, who got 12 stitches in his right arm after punching out the window that day.

For weeks after the funeral and protest, people hugged him and whispered in his ear.

"Thank you," they said.

Contact Kristin Harty at 324-2792 or kharty@delawareonline.com.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright (c) The News Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc.

Now it's fixed.

Valigarmander · 11-07-2007, 08:48 PM

The page requested was not found...

I am nobody · 11-07-2007, 08:50 PM

Sorry, long URL. It's fixed now.

Daos · 11-07-2007, 09:09 PM

Making news journals?

I am nobody · 11-07-2007, 09:17 PM

Well I thought it was fixed. I'll edit the first post and post again when it is fixed.

EDIT: The site is blocking the article. I'm going to C+P into the first post instead. ( And as for the Credit, It is from the Nov. 3rd News Journal. )

**L007 is Undecided** · 11-12-2007, 02:37 PM

Oh, God, these people. I was very tempted to beat the **** out of a random one of them when they were protesting my cousin's funeral because he was in Iraq.

It would be bad if I see them again, considering I have a hatchet in my car and a blade on my person due to personal reasons.

**Crazyswordsman** · 11-19-2007, 09:44 PM

This is what Phelps does for a living. -CSM

***ZeldaGirl*** · 11-19-2007, 09:47 PM

"God hates fags... it doesn't matter that in the Bible, Jesus encourages us to LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF. We ignore that part of the Bible."

People like this don't actually believe in God - they merely preach their own rules and ideas and try to pin it on a higher being. Really, they have no possible way of comprehending "God." They are far to hateful to.

**Crazyswordsman** · 11-19-2007, 10:09 PM

Well, at least they don't believe in the same God I believe in. -CSM

Valigarmander · 11-19-2007, 11:45 PM

betasoldier · 12-07-2007, 04:06 AM

If you don't look around and keep up with things, you may not realize that **** likes this happens all ****ing time. ****ing pissants can all go to hell and and die as far as I'm concerned. You have bastards like these and similar ones who only oppose the war who show up at funerals of dead soldiers. They all piss me off. More than once those protesters have been driven off by the funeral attendee's through use of *cracks knuckles* force. Needless to say, from my understanding, the midwest and the south have the lowest amount of protesters at funerals doing **** like this. Of course, the people breaking up ****heads like that get arrested too, but it hasn't stopped them from keeping it up.

Protest all you want about anything almost anywhere at almost anytime and I won't mind. But doing **** like that at a funeral for a dead soldier. Really, really gets my blood boiling. They need to show a little ****ing respect once in a while.

DELICIOUS POISON · 12-07-2007, 08:11 AM

They're only doing it to the soldiers' families because the gay community learned to ignore them. They need the attention so they can feel important.

11-07-2007, 08:46 PM	#1
I am nobody Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Here's a hint: There are people here. Gender: Posts: 3,132 Thanks: 110 Thanked 109 Times in 75 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 7,395.87 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 7,395.87 Donate	I can't bellieve that some people are actually doing this. November 3, 2007 Section: NEWS Edition: Final Page: A1, A2 For Seaford folks, verdict in Pa. funeral protest is fair KRISTIN HARTY Staff By KRISTIN HARTY The News Journal Allen Dunn felt the fury rising in his gut that day, a year and a half ago, when Seaford buried a hometown Marine. Demonstrators from Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church huddled together with their signs. "God Hates Fags." "Fags Doom Nations." "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," some of the signs read. Then one of the demonstrators smiled at Dunn and spit on the American flag. "Can't you do anything about that?" Dunn asked one of the dozens of policemen protecting the protesters. "Not a thing," the policeman said. Last week, a federal court found that Phelps' controversial church had broken the law during a similar protest two months before Seaford buried 21-year-old Cpl. Cory Palmer in May 2006. A jury awarded close to $11 million to Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., saying the family's privacy had been invaded when church members picketed the funeral of their son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, 20. The church's activities were "extreme and outrageous" and led to severe emotional distress, the jury said. In Seaford, residents didn't wait for a court to decide whether Phelps' church was out of line. They pronounced their verdict May 21, 2006, when more than a thousand gathered to shout down the dozen demonstrators at Gateway Park, three blocks from Palmer's funeral at St. John's United Methodist Church. They revved engines and honked horns, hurled insults and waved flags. As the 45-minute demonstration neared its end, the crowd pressed forward toward the van that would carry the Kansas church members out of town. Dunn, a former Marine and Vietnam veteran, looked inside and saw that same smiling face that had spit on the flag a few moments before. He slammed his fist into the glass. "It just exploded," said Dunn, 58, of Seaford, one of four adults arrested that day. "I didn't mean to bust the window out, but that old boy just looked out and grinned. ... I'm an ex-Marine. That just cut me to the core." Seaford Police Chief Gary Morris, who was in the middle of the melee, called it one of "one of the most intense emotional situations I've ever personally witnessed." The fundamentalist Christian church believes God is punishing America because of its tolerance of homosexuality. Its 75 members are mostly members of the Phelps family. In Seaford, town leaders had been advised by attorneys that they must issue the group a permit to honor the First Amendment's guarantee of free speech. They chose Gateway Park because it was out of sight and earshot of the church where family and friends said goodbye to Palmer. Hundreds of people formed a corridor of flags along the street, softly singing "The Star-Spangled Banner" and reciting the Lord's Prayer. Cory Palmer's mother, Danna, never saw or heard the protesters, but she knew they were there. "Our city had forewarned us of that," she said. "They took extreme measures to protect us from that." About a year ago, someone contacted the Palmers to ask whether they wanted to join in Snyder's lawsuit against the church. They declined. "We contemplated it, and my husband said, 'It's probably a futile challenge,' " said Danna Palmer, adding that she "wasn't in any condition" to pursue a lawsuit at the time. "I admire his courage in doing that." She said the family is grateful that townspeople like Dunn stood up against the protesters. Dunn knows the Palmer family and played softball with Cory's dad. After Dunn's arrest, a local attorney took his case pro bono and the charges were later dropped. His brother-in-law wrote the city a check for $1,700 to pay for damage to the city's van. "I didn't mean for it to come out the way it did, but I would do it again," said Dunn, a construction worker, who got 12 stitches in his right arm after punching out the window that day. For weeks after the funeral and protest, people hugged him and whispered in his ear. "Thank you," they said. Contact Kristin Harty at 324-2792 or kharty@delawareonline.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright (c) The News Journal. All rights reserved. Reproduced with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank, inc. Now it's fixed. Last edited by i_am_nobody; 11-07-2007 at 09:31 PM.

11-07-2007, 09:09 PM	#4
Daos Banned Forum Mod Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Earth Gender: Posts: 4,996 Thanks: 60 Thanked 127 Times in 93 Posts Points: 25,825.80 Bank: 132,949.43 Total Points: 158,775.23 Donate	Making news journals? __________________ I am terror, I am Daos.

11-07-2007, 09:17 PM	#5
I am nobody Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Here's a hint: There are people here. Gender: Posts: 3,132 Thanks: 110 Thanked 109 Times in 75 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 7,395.87 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 7,395.87 Donate	Well I thought it was fixed. I'll edit the first post and post again when it is fixed. EDIT: The site is blocking the article. I'm going to C+P into the first post instead. ( And as for the Credit, It is from the Nov. 3rd News Journal. ) Last edited by i_am_nobody; 11-07-2007 at 09:30 PM.

11-12-2007, 02:37 PM	#6
L007 is Undecided Axe Shreddin' Mod Join Date: May 2001 Location: Farmerland. Gender: Posts: 7,440 Thanks: 98 Thanked 316 Times in 186 Posts Points: 6,356.93 Bank: 22,793.61 Total Points: 29,150.54 Donate	Oh, God, these people. I was very tempted to beat the **** out of a random one of them when they were protesting my cousin's funeral because he was in Iraq. It would be bad if I see them again, considering I have a hatchet in my car and a blade on my person due to personal reasons. __________________ Can I has signature?

11-07-2007, 08:48 PM	#2
Valigarmander Frankly, more awesome than you. Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Either UN's bed or Andre's bed. Gender: Posts: 13,068 Thanks: 799 Thanked 1,369 Times in 678 Posts Points: 112.89 Bank: 124,454.15 Total Points: 124,567.04 Donate	The page requested was not found...

11-07-2007, 08:50 PM	#3
I am nobody Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Here's a hint: There are people here. Gender: Posts: 3,132 Thanks: 110 Thanked 109 Times in 75 Posts Blog Entries: 3 Points: 7,395.87 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 7,395.87 Donate	Sorry, long URL. It's fixed now.

11-19-2007, 09:44 PM	#7
Crazyswordsman RPG Mod Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Booyaville (yeah!) Gender: Posts: 8,128 Thanks: 556 Thanked 394 Times in 267 Posts Points: 139,185.52 Bank: 36,646.84 Total Points: 175,832.36 Donate	This is what Phelps does for a living. -CSM

11-19-2007, 09:47 PM	#8
*ZeldaGirl* Venting SuperMod Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: Why do YOU want to know...? Gender: Posts: 12,042 Thanks: 512 Thanked 846 Times in 579 Posts Points: 28,480.24 Bank: 428,487.62 Total Points: 456,967.85 Donate	"God hates fags... it doesn't matter that in the Bible, Jesus encourages us to LOVE THY NEIGHBOR AS THYSELF. We ignore that part of the Bible." People like this don't actually believe in God - they merely preach their own rules and ideas and try to pin it on a higher being. Really, they have no possible way of comprehending "God." They are far to hateful to.

11-19-2007, 10:09 PM	#9
Crazyswordsman RPG Mod Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Booyaville (yeah!) Gender: Posts: 8,128 Thanks: 556 Thanked 394 Times in 267 Posts Points: 139,185.52 Bank: 36,646.84 Total Points: 175,832.36 Donate	Well, at least they don't believe in the same God I believe in. -CSM

11-19-2007, 11:45 PM	#10
Valigarmander Frankly, more awesome than you. Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Either UN's bed or Andre's bed. Gender: Posts: 13,068 Thanks: 799 Thanked 1,369 Times in 678 Posts Points: 112.89 Bank: 124,454.15 Total Points: 124,567.04 Donate

12-07-2007, 04:06 AM	#11
betasoldier Junior Member Join Date: May 2007 Gender: Posts: 106 Thanks: 10 Thanked 2 Times in 2 Posts Points: 2,933.66 Bank: 0.00 Total Points: 2,933.66 Donate	If you don't look around and keep up with things, you may not realize that ** likes this happens all ing time. *ing pissants can all go to hell and and die as far as I'm concerned. You have bastards like these and similar ones who only oppose the war who show up at funerals of dead soldiers. They all piss me off. More than once those protesters have been driven off by the funeral attendee's through use of cracks knuckles* force. Needless to say, from my understanding, the midwest and the south have the lowest amount of protesters at funerals doing ** like this. Of course, the people breaking up heads like that get arrested too, but it hasn't stopped them from keeping it up. Protest all you want about anything almost anywhere at almost anytime and I won't mind. But doing like that at a funeral for a dead soldier. Really, really gets my blood boiling. They need to show a little **ing respect once in a while.

12-07-2007, 08:11 AM	#12
DELICIOUS POISON Retro Nintendo Supermod Art & Literature Mod Metroid Mod Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: I rub my tilde all over your asterisk Gender: Posts: 16,234 Thanks: 519 Thanked 1,376 Times in 706 Posts Points: 6,622.64 Bank: 2,464,338.98 Total Points: 2,470,961.62 Donate	They're only doing it to the soldiers' families because the gay community learned to ignore them. They need the attention so they can feel important.