# Church to picket Marine's funeral in Moorhead



## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

Church to picket Marine's funeral in Moorhead

Jul 30, 2005 : 6:23 pm ET

MOORHEAD, Minn. -- A controversial Kansas church plans to picket the funeral of a North Carolina-based Marine who was killed in Iraq.

Sgt. Bryan Opskar was killed on July 23 when a roadside bomb exploded. A military spokesman says the 32-year-old Marine was conducting combat operations near Ar Rutbah, Iraq.

Ten members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, plan to picket for 30 minutes before Opskar's funeral in Moorhead on Tuesday, said Shirley Phelps-Roper, church attorney and daughter of the church's minister.

The church operates two anti-gay Web sites and links soldiers' deaths in Iraq to a bomb that exploded on its compound in 1995.

A news release from the church says Opskar was killed by "by an IED (improvised explosive devices), like the IED America used to bomb our church, in a terroristic attempt to stop WBC's anti-gay preaching."

"We may be pardoned for seeing a direct correlation between the Improvised Explosive Devices killing American kids in Iraq and the IED that nearly killed a sleeping Westboro baby August 20th 1995," the release said.

Phelps-Roper said the group pickets only public funerals where the military promotes the war and downplays the situation in Iraq.

The funeral of Opskar, of the 2nd Marine Division out of Camp Lejeune, N.C., is scheduled to begin Tuesday at Trinity Lutheran Church.

The Moorhead Police Department will send more officers to Opskar's funeral to prevent any conflict between the mourners and the picketers, said police Sgt. Chris Carey. Police also will videotape the picketing, he said.

Carey also advised mourners to ignore the picketers.

"If somebody was to address the West Baptist Church, they're playing right into what they would like," he said. "The best thing to do is ignore the message they're sending. They're an extremely small minority from the United States that feels that way."

Opskar's father, Erling Opskar, did not return a phone message left by The Forum of Fargo.

In 1998, the church picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student whose murder sparked a national outcry for hate-crimes legislation.

More recently, the group carried signs that read "America is Doomed" and "God Hates ****" at a soldier's funeral in Oklahoma last week.


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## northdakotakid (May 12, 2004)

This is their website, they are a bunch of fanatics that hate America. They should be sent to the Middle East and see how long they survive and how bad America really is.

This one made me sick to my stomach.

http://www.godhatesamerica.com/


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## Matt Jones (Mar 6, 2002)

WOW!  It amazes me everytime I read something like this. I guess I have to be reminded there's actually people this psychotic out there.


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## Dak (Feb 28, 2005)

Matt,

That psychotic, weird, or whatever you want to call it and those of us in the military defend their right to be that way every day. It is what we do. :beer:


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## roosterhunter19 (Apr 9, 2005)

meth will do that to you


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## Jiffy (Apr 22, 2005)

In lue of being held to my word on a website I will refrain from saying what I really want to. However, if a "Marine that is not active"...as of now. Would happen to "develope a hide"....lets say anywhere from 400 - 800 yards away from these "pukes of society". I bet "he" could take them out and get away undetected without to much of a problem.....I truly hope one of those bastards reads this.....they live under the blanket of freedom that he provided. How DARE they!!!!! :******:


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## englishpointer (May 16, 2005)

BRAVO JIFFY!!!!!!!!!! 
DITO FOR ME!!!!!!!!!


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## Gohon (Feb 14, 2005)

I fired off a letter to the director of the General Baptist Ministries but as expected I recieved no reply. Somehow I just don't think the Baptist church supports this as a whole.


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## MSG Rude (Oct 6, 2003)

I tell you what...it is a sad, sad, day in this world. Think of what our founding fathers would do if they could see what we have done with their vision...God have mercy on us.


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

Pretty sad that a man can lead a church on a three-word vocabulary of "****, Hell, and Hate."

When I think of those idiots, I find solace in John 3:16, perhaps the most quoted verse from the bible. That about sums up the whole heaven and hell aspect of Christianity for me.


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