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Westboro Baptist Church announces first anti-homosexuality picket in Britain
The fundamentalist US church notorious for picketing the funerals of dead soldiers plans to carry out its first protest in Britain this week, it has emerged.

Followers of the virulently anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church have threatened to picket a sixth form college in Basingstoke, Hampshire during a staging of The Laramie Project, a play about an American youth murdered because of his sexuality.

The church from Topeka, Kansas is mainly composed of relatives of the founder, pastor Fred Phelps, who style themselves "the most hated family in America".

Their core belief – that God will punish the West for its acceptance of homosexuality – has seen them protest at dozens of servicemen's funerals brandishing garish placards stating "God hates the USA" and "Thank God for dead soldiers".

Details of the church's first picket in Britain was posted on their website with the slogan "God Hates England; Your Queen Is A W----".

"Some of the best Bible preaching in the history of the world came out of that dark dismal land, but now it is full of all abominations," the notice read.

"God will shortly destroy the UK and the world, but not until they have got the plain, clear message so that they will be without excuse."

The target of Friday evening's demonstration will be the Central Studio arts venue at Queen Mary's College, where local gay group Freedom Youth is staging a small production of the The Laramie Project this week.

The play, which has roused the ire of Westboro followers in the past, tells the story of Matthew Shepard, a gay teenager tortured and murdered in small town America in 1998.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a church spokeswoman, confirmed the plan but declined to say whether members would be flying over from the US or if the picket would be carried out by followers in Britain. The church has no scheduled pickets on the days immediately before or after the Basingstoke demonstration.

"It is the first actual picket. We have been preaching by so many means to the UK for years. The arm of the Lord our God is not shortened by oceans and things, all of which he created, and all of which he knew about when he considered these last hours of the very last days of all," Mrs Phelps-Roper said.

In a lengthy justification of the protest, she cited the recent case of 13-year-old Alfie Patten, who claims to have fathered a child with his 15-year-old girlfriend, as evidence of UK's moral decline.

"And then you can add to this pleasant little happy UK family moment that another 13-year-old boy has arisen to dispute paternity! Oh yea baby – you UK rebels truly have it groin [sic] on. You are like the doomed American rebels – just a big shameful mess," she said.

Central Studio confirmed that it was aware of the planned protest and said it was making preparations with the school. A Freedom Youth leader said he believed the chance of the church carrying through on its picket threat was very low, given the distance its followers would have to travel.

Maria Miller, Conservative MP for Basingstoke, said that she had contacted the Home Secretary to see what action the Government may be considering in relation to possible attempts by the Phelps family to enter the country.

She condemned the church's "highly inflammatory language and behaviour" and said the young people who had worked on the play would not be intimidated by threats.

"The most important thing is that a production that is trying to promote tolerance goes ahead and that's what I'm focusing on achieving," she said.

"There's no evidence that they will be coming along and I don't believe they have a base in the UK."

Ben Summerskill, chief executive of Stonewall, the gay right group, described the church's plan as "distressing".

"The Laramie Project is a very serious play about a young man who was beaten to death just because he was gay. To regard that as a cause for celebration will make a lot of people both gay and straight feel very uncomfortable," he said.

"I suspect that they won't be welcomed by the people of Basingstoke."

He added: "They have caused enormous distress by protesting outside the funerals of service personnel in the US and I hope they have no intention of trying anything similar in Britain."

But he warned that any attempt to ban Westboro church members from travelling to Britain would just give them the oxygen of publicity similar to the attention garnered by the right-wing Dutch MP Geert Wilders last week.

Members of Anonymous, the nebulous online community that has previously organised protests against the Church of Scientology, are alreading planning counter-demonstrations outside the college on Friday, posts on internet message boards indicate.

A spokeswoman for Hampshire Police said the force was aware of the planned picket.

Details of the church's first picket in Britain was posted on their website with the slogan "God Hates England; Your Queen Is A W----".

And she's most certainly not a Welsh.

They should pay for a bus advert

I remember these guys from Louis Theroux's documentary about them. They are incredibly batty.

There was one girl, a bit older than her cousins I think, who seemed to be wavering in her 'belief'. I felt so sorry for her, I hoped that she had left the church after the documentary

Why are they not goign to Brighton if they hate 'fags'

"God will shortly destroy the UK and the world but not until they have got the plain, clear message so that they will be without excuse."

You going to showup in tight leather pants with the buttocks cut out?

edit @ maila. Not DocG

Why isn't 'God' smiting San Fransisco?

They live on a fault line. Even He can resist that temptation.

Just by sheer numbers, there are many more gays in the US than in the UK. Why isn't 'God' smiting San Fransisco?

Won't they be breaching a law or two with this?

Just by sheer numbers, there are many more gays in the US than in the UK. Why isn't 'God' smiting San Fransisco?

Such as?

I hope the people of the UK take their usual stance and either walk by looking vaguely amused or bemused, or, when confronted with banners proclaiming 'Your Queen is a Whore' care as much as they usually do - ie, not at all.

Such as?

1 Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers. This Article shall not prevent States from requiring the licensing of broadcasting, television or cinema enterprises.

2 The exercise of these freedoms, since it carries with it duties and responsibilities, may be subject to such formalities, conditions, restrictions or penalties as are prescribed by law and are necessary in a democratic society, in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, for the protection of the reputation or rights of others, for preventing the disclosure of information received in confidence, or for maintaining the authority and impartiality of the judiciary.

Also - Alfie's "evidence of the UK's moral decline"? Yeah, because in the States he'd have got his *sister* knocked up, which is far more morally acceptable.

There's no confirmation whether they'll be letting people in or whether it'll be UK native protesters.

Also, Inciting hatred is fine, I believe. Incitement to violence is where you start getting into legal trouble.

Religious (especially Christian) protests don't tend to do that. They don't need to wish death on gay people, they just tell them the horrible things that'll happen to them after they die, and the horrible things they are doing to the world by existing on it.

Westboro Baptist Church justifies UK picket
This is the full text of the Telegraph's correspondence with the Westboro Baptist Church, about its plan to stage a picket in Britain for the first time. The church has threatened to demonstrate outside the staging of anti-homophobia play The Laramie Project at a school theatre in Basingstoke, Hampshire on Friday.


Last Updated: 12:59PM GMT 17 Feb 2009

1) Is this your first picket in the UK?

1. It is the first actual picket. We have been preaching by so many means to the UK for years. The arm of the Lord our God is not shortened by oceans and things, all of which, he created, and all of which he knew about when he considered these last hours of the very last days of all.

2) Are you flying across to Britain, or is the picket being carried out by members in Britain? If you are flying over, how many protesters are you expecting and when are you arriving?

2. Considering that your nation has tried in many ways, including with draconian laws to shut up the Word of God from OFF your landscape, and to make it a crime to plainly say what the STANDARDS of GOD are, (e.g. THOU SHALT NOT lie with mankind as with womankind, it is abomination or THOU SHALT NOT commit adultery, etc.) that I will not be telling any details of our business to get where we need to be.

3) What is your objection to The Laramie Project?

3. We don't object to it, we see it as a glorious preaching moment. It creates a PERFECT backdrop for us to help YOU connect the dots. From the least to the greatest of the people of the UK, including your lamenting and rebellious and disobedient Gordon Brown. You taught your children FOR GENERATIONS now that God is a big fat liar and that HIS standards are on the table to dispose of. You BROKE their moral compass.

The prophet said - WHAT WILL YE DO IN THE END THEREOF. That is to say for you rebels - WHAT will you do when you get to the end of this road of your filthy disobedient manner of life and find that you have incurred the wrath of God and you find that his promises to make your people to be ALTOGETHER WORTHLESS, GOOD FOR ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! And what will you do when you all land in hell FOR EVER where the worm that eats on you NEVER dies and the fire is NEVER quenched and the smoke of your torment ascends up for ever and ever and ever and ever and ever - never ending. So we go to the place where the Laramie Project is playing and you look at us, then you look at the so-called "counter-picketers" and the young people that you have taught that they can live like the very devil himself and it is JUST FINE, because even though the Bible CLEARLY says that God HATES people and it is a perfect hatred - a determination to send the UNREPINENTANT to hell for ever.

So I say - you can look at the faces of each of these groups, and you see that these young people of WBC - as you already know, have no confusion and they have bright shining minds and they are happy and well adjusted and content, living sober, righteous and godly in this present world, while you are busy in GREAT lament over the fact that you have a 15-year-old girl having the baby of a 13-year-old boy (who was 12) when they embarked upon this glorious plan, because YOU brutes taught them that God is a liar. Now suddenly you see that they have NO standards! And then you can add to this pleasant little happy UK family moment that another 13-year-old boy has arisen to dispute paternity! Oh yea baby - you UK rebels truly have it goin on! You are like the Doomed american rebels - just a big shameful MESS!! I say we are dot connecters! THAT is our job! We use the Laramie Project to tell you unambiguously and unapologetically that your DUTY is to fear God and keep his commandments and that you are required to give the glory of all his judgments that he is executing RIGHT UNDER YOUR NOSE, TO HIM! The God Smacks are HIS WORK!

4) Why have you decided to widen your protests to Britain?

4. Here is the reason - from the mouth of the Lord Jesus Christ, to wit: Mt 24:14 And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come. Our God has worked upon the hearts of this little flock of slaughter, and he has, in his mercy permitted us to preach to the whole world! What a glorious and amazing sight that we should be so blessed! We are permitted to say with our beloved brother Paul, our faithful, message of TRUTH in this dark adulterous and sinful generation of rebels against God with NO cause. You KNOW his word - you had great light in your land in the 1600s with the vast array of John's (Knox, Bunyan, Brown, Gill, Trapp, etc., etc.) and you have Bible's everywhere! But your goofy queen and her adulterous whore of a son - YIKES put their hand and you all put your hands to mischief at every turn.

The antichrist is sitting now, in the Whitehouse, the time is SO SHORT - the Lord is coming and this generation is DOOMED! You see the destruction already before your eyes! As filthy america goes down, and The Beast Obama, That Son of Perdition, that Man of Sin gets his power grab on, you will all give over the power of your government to him and when you see that phony façade fall away, and he gets his war on and all your fawning over him turns to great fear, then you can remember these words.

In that hour, if you or any other soul in the UK has a heart to know your God, and you understand that the end is near, you can yet put away your idols, your false gods and your FILTHY manner of life and you can serve the Lord your God in truth! THAT is your only hope.

Thanks for asking!

Shirley Phelps-Roper

They still have to get a visa to get in to teh UK, don't they?

The antichrist is sitting now, in the Whitehouse, the time is SO SHORT - the Lord is coming and this generation is DOOMED! You see the destruction already before your eyes! As filthy america goes down, and The Beast Obama, That Son of Perdition, that Man of Sin gets his power grab on, you will all give over the power of your government to him and when you see that phony façade fall away, and he gets his war on and all your fawning over him turns to great fear, then you can remember these words.