Petition To Legally Recognize Westboro Baptist Church As Hate Group Gains Strength

With the news that Westboro Baptist Church plans to picket the site of the Connecticut school shooting, as well as the funerals of the children and educators killed, a petition has been started to legally recognize the church as a hate group.

The latest petition against the Topeka, Kansas church was started on the White House’s website on Friday and has more than 3,600 signatures already — meaning that the White House, according to the website, will need to respond to it.

The petition is short and to the point, reading (in full):

“This group has been recognized as a hate group by organizations, such as The Southern Poverty Law Center, and has repeatedly displayed the actions typical of hate groups.

“Their actions have been directed at many groups, including homosexuals, military, Jewish people and even other Christians. They pose a threat to the welfare and treatment of others and will not improve without some form of imposed regulation.”

It is not the first petition that has been filed against Westboro Baptist Church and it likely will not be the last. The group is known for picketing funerals of soldiers, celebrities, and political figures. They threatened to protest the Aurora theater shooting, as well as the attempted assassination of Gabby Giffords. The group often brings signs that read “God hates you,” “Thank God for dead soldiers,” and “God hates fags.”

Other petitions against Westboro Baptist Church include:

–Petitiononline.com — Boycott the WBC

–Change.org — Shut down the WBC

–Thepetitionsite.com — Disband the WBC

–iPetitions.com — Remove the WBC from tax-exempt status

Do you agree that the Westboro Baptist Church should be legally recognized as a hate group? Do you think it would make a difference if they were?