Protesters Rally Against Pastor's 'Why I Hate Obama' Sermon

[RamboLiberal]

Source: ABC News

Members of an Arizona community are trying to counteract what they say is hate-speech seething in one of the town's conservative churches.

About 100 protesters arrived at Tempe's Faithful Word Baptist Church on Sunday to demonstrate against controversial comments from its pastor, Steven L. Anderson.

The pastor delivered a sermon last month that was entitled, "Why I Hate Barack Obama," and called on his parish to pray for the death of the president.

Anderson told ABC's affiliate KNXV-TV in Phoenix that he received a phone call from the U.S. Secret Service after that August incident.

The so-called "Love Rally" outside Anderson's church -- office space wedged between a pawn shop and a salon in a strip mall -- was organized by the People Against Clergy Who Preach Hate.



Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/arizona-protesters-rally-obama-hating-pastor/story?id=8510835

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Thank you and great job to People Against Clergy Who Preach Hate! Keep up the great work!

And I hope the Secret Service scared the bejesus out of hater Anderson!

[mikekohr]

1. There is no bejesus or Jesus in hater preacher Anderson

His sour message of hate explains why he is puckered on both ends

[polichick]

2. It's amazing how many sociopaths make it to the top of the food chain...

That wouldn't happen if there weren't so many sheeple ~ good for those protesters!!!

k&r

[moobu2]

3. Maybe Faux news will give him his own show.

[Kolesar]

4. "Love rally" -- good messaging

As for "Pastor" Anderson--he needs to be in a locked ward.

[billh58]

5. Actually the only

difference between "Pastor" Anderson, and Falwell, Dobson, or Robertson (or any of their religious-right counterparts) is that he does not couch his loud-mouthed hatred in thinly-veiled speech. He would be right at home at a public KKK cross-burning, and is available with, or without, the hood.

[maglatinavi]

6. hate speech

I assume he is white... what has the secret service done... is it lawful to preach killing someone??? "wow"

[billh58]

8. The butt-head

received a call from the SS, so at least they're keeping an eye on him. He is walking a fine line between free speech, and prohibited speech, and I suspect that he would love to be arrested in order to become a religious-right martyr.

[crim son]

16. I agree. People convicted of hate speech should be

FINED into penury and then refused the "socialist" services they so oppose. Nothing else can hurt them.

[paulsby]

11. it is entirely lawful

to pray for somebody's death, yes.

[laughingliberal]

12. Perhaps but a man served 3 years in prison for telling

the burning bush joke in a bar when george was resident (sic)

[paulsby]

13. i haven't read the case

transcripts on that case, or know enough about it to have an opinion on it.

i do know that praying for somebody to be struck down by god(s) is not considered a "true threat" under the legal standards.

[laughingliberal]

14. Here it is

Another man, Richard Humphreys, happened to get into a harmless barside discussion with a truck driver. A bartender who overheard the conversation realized that Bush was scheduled to visit nearby Sioux Falls the next day, and he told police that Humphreys–who made a joke with a biblical reference–had talked about a "burning Bush" and the possibility of someone pouring a flammable liquid on Bush and lighting it. Humphreys was arrested for threatening the president.

"I said God might speak to the world through a burning Bush," he testified during his trial. "I had said that before and I thought it was funny."

Nevertheless, he was found guilty and sentenced to more than three years in prison. He decided to appeal, on the basis that his comment was a prophecy, protected under his right to freedom of speech.

http://www.nypress.com/article-8368-threatening-the-president-is-no-joke-even-when-it-is-one.html

I just recently read somewhere that he has been released after serving his sentence.

[paulsby]

15. thanks

i actually said i hadn't read the CASE. iow, the case transcripts or at least the PC statement, etc.

i detest relying on media reports (nypress.com) for legal analysis, since they always suck.

the article does not provide NEARLY enough detail of the actual case transcript for me to come to a conclusion on the case.

i no longer have a lexis-nexis account, but i'll see what i can find on the actual case before deciding on an opinion. based on how the article is written, it certainly SOUNDS sketchy, but again... laymedia reports on criminal cases (or civil cases) have mass suckitude.

i go the source (case transcripts, PC statements, etc.)

you will note the article does not even give the NAME of the case, so it can be researched. this is typical of shoddy media, and often indicative of deceptive media, when they don't want people researching for themselves, and then find out the media report was inaccurate and biased.

to not NAME the case you are commenting on, imo, is an absurd example of poor journalism.

it also injects opinion, such as the term "harmless conversation". that's called begging the question.

but thanks for that link. i will try to find actual CASE links or analysis at one of the legal blogs i frequent

[RaleighNCDUer]

17. But thankfully, it is as unlikely that prayer will be answered

as any other prayers.

I couldn't give a crap if everybody prayed - the trouble starts when some yahoo gets tired of waiting for god to listen and takes it on himself to act in his stead.

[uncle ray]

18. but when that someone is the president, it gets political.

and you know as well as i do, that it is not lawful when you cross the political line. not from a free speech standpoint, it's the tax exempt issue. now if his church were to lose it's tax exempt status, then he can preach and pray for whatever the hell he wants.

[paulsby]

19. i readily admit

i do not know enough about the aspects of civil law in this case, such that would a preacher, acting in his official capacity and publically praying for the death of an executive branch member, cause the church to lose its tax exempt status. you may very well be right. it's simply an area of law i have no knowledge in. i just know what he did is not CRIMINAL, since i am quite knowledgeable about the case law in that regards, having worked dozens of similar cases, and having a few friends in the SS that i have worked with

[Betty]

7. if he'd preached a sermon like that against bush

what do you suppose would happen to him? And what would all the right wing assholes say? I am sure not a one has spoken out about this.

[Barbara2423]

9. I'm proud of these people for protesting

[Iwillnevergiveup]

10. This guy is very tightly wound

and like Glenn Beckkk, is gonna implode from within. Hope the "Love Rally" grows by the week.