When the Westboro Baptist Church decided to picket a Marine’s funeral, they had no idea who was coming in to stop them in their tracks.
At 25 years old, Marine Corporal Richard Bennet died in a helicopter crash in Iraq, and the “church” chose his funeral as a site for one of their protests. The members of this radical group all believe that God kills our troops because of America’s acceptance of homosexuality.
Usually a time for quiet reflection and grieving, the family of this fallen Marine was going to have to face the angry chants of this fringe group. Luckily for the family and friends of Bennet, however, a group of bikers known as “The Patriot Guard” decided to roll in and do their best to protect the family.
Veteran, member of the Patriot Guard, and pastor Ken Van attends these soldiers’ funerals as often as he can.
“No family should have to face this type of hatred on the day that they’re putting their loved ones to rest,” he calmly said. Bennet died defending our sacred freedoms, and he even died to give the fringe members of the Westboro Baptist Church the right to picket his own funeral, but just because they have the right to speak doesn’t mean we have to listen.
It’s a shame that they abuse their rights to the detriment of society, but it’s wonderful to see the Patriot Guard exercise their own rights even more. Using their bodies as shields and their motorcycle engines to drown out the vitriolic chants of Westboro, this “biker gang” truly knows what being a proud American is all about.
These bikers all manage to keep a calm demeanor in spite of the hateful words of the fringe group; the group only gains power when they’re given the satisfaction of knowing they had an effect on people. Like a middle-school bully, these types of people are best beaten by ignoring them until they disappear into the obscurity in which they belong. At the 1:20 mark of this video, I honestly teared up.
Would you be able to keep such a calm face with these “people” screaming such hateful words about our nation’s brave soldiers? Let us know in the comments!
And please SHARE this beautiful video if you think all of our fallen soldiers deserve respect for their sacrifice!
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