Westboro Baptist Church Plans West County Protest Saturday
Members of the Wesboro Baptist Church will be close to Chesterfield with a plan to protest in "Manchester Park" Saturday afternoon.
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Westboro Baptist Church Members known for their anti-gay protests at the funerals of U.S. soldiers will be coming to the West County area following an appeals court ruling earlier this week.
The ruling went in favor of the City of Manchester in regard to a lawsuit filed by Wesboro Baptist Church members challenging Manchester's funeral protest ordinance. The ordinance prohibits protests within 300 feet of a funeral one hour before and one hour after services.
Westboro members claim that the soldiers' deaths are a result of America's tolerance for homosexuality. They regularly picket military funerals with signs such as "thank God for dead soldiers."
According to Westboro's website, church members plan to protest from 2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., Saturday at Manchester Park. It's unclear what Westboro is calling "Manchester Park," although Paul Schroeder Park is commonly known as the "city park" among Manchester residents.
It's also unclear on Wesboro's website exactly what the message of church members will be Saturday, but the site does reference Tuesday's ruling by the federal appeals court allowing Manchester to restrict funeral protests in regard to Westboro's lawsuit challenging the city's ordinance.
(Read Previous Story: Appeals Court Rules Manchester Can Restrict Funeral Protests)
As previously reported by Patch, members of the Westboro Baptist Church are also planning to picket the Maplewood Richmond Heights theater production of The Laramie Project, on Saturday.
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Appeals Court Rules Manchester Can Restrict Funeral Protests
Manchester Reacts to Court's Ruling in Westboro Funeral Protest Case
