Patriot Guard Riders

Protesting and expressing unpopular viewpoints is an old American custom that is generally protected by our constitution as “freedom of speech”. However, as most of you probably already know there are still limitations – not all speech merits protection. The classic example of non-protected speech is yelling “fire” in a crowded theater, something which would cause a clear and present danger to the occupants of the theater.

Until recently I was not aware of another abuse of free speech which, while not necessarily dangerous, is certainly odious. I’m talking about protesters using family funeral services as their forum of hatred and protest. The practice doesn’t appear to be widespread. In fact it is probably 99.9% attributable to one small group, the so-called Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas. I use “so-called” in this case because they are not affiliated with any other Baptist church and arguably don’t even quality for the term “church”. It is more of a “family of hatred”.

Convinced of the utter godlessness of homosexuality, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), consisting of Fred Phelps and his extended family, has the message for the world that the United States is doomed to hell because we have not rid the country of all homosexuals. The Iraq war is just one of the latest signs that God is displeased with America. Hurricane Katrina, 9/11, and numerous other disasters qualify as “God’s wrath” and the WBC applauds God for killing so many Americans. The recent applause comes in the form of WBC protesters holding signs and jeering at families and friends gathered for funerals of servicemen killed in Iraq. It just goes to show how twisted some people can become when they are convinced that they speak for God.

Now the good news. Also from Kansas is a group which calls itself the Patriot Guard Riders (PGR). Originating in 2005 from an impromptu group of American Legion motorcyclists determined to protect families from WBC indignities during a funeral, the PGR has grown to over 25,000 members nationwide. Their mission statement has also matured to include the following (from Wikipedia):

Our main mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission we undertake has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.

I am impressed with the restraint, maturity, and non-violence promoted by the group in dealing with the Westboro Baptist Church crowd. Their methods involve providing a human, flag, and motorcycle barrier between the protesters and the family. If the protesters start to chant, the Patriot Guard Riders start their engines. They are a well-organized, disciplined group of all political leanings. They were recently honored by the U.S. House of Representatives following such speeches as this one from Congressman Jerry Moran.

Thanks, Barb, for letting me know about this fine group of citizen patriots.