Bikers don’t roll over free speech to stand up for fallen heroes

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: The cure for bad speech isn’t to ban it. The cure is good speech.

That’s why I love these guys:

Wearing vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls around the country from one soldier’s funeral to another, cheering respectfully to overshadow jeers from church protesters.

They call themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, and they are more than 5,000 strong, forming to counter anti-gay protests held by the Rev. Fred Phelps at military funerals.

Phelps believes American deaths in
Iraq are divine punishment for a country that he says harbors homosexuals. His protesters carry signs thanking God for so-called IEDs — explosives that are a major killer of soldiers in Iraq.

The bikers shield the families of dead soldiers from the protesters, and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a sea of red, white and blue flags.

“The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares,” said Don Woodrick, the group’s Kentucky captain. “When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement.”

Illinois is one of 14 states considering legislation to restrict the kind of protests being done by Phelps’ degenerate, sex- and hate-obsessed cult.

It’s a bad idea. Not because I have any sympathy for these people (I hope they all die in a flaming car accident), but because there is already enough damage being done to the public’s right to know in the United States and here in Illinois. And if the Constitution doesn’t protect unpopular speech, it serves no purpose, because popular speech requires no protection.

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