Maybe Phelps can protest the Somali pirates or the Mexican Drug lords that have taken over Mexico. If he comes back God isn’t punishing him.
I dunno. As much as I loathe Fred Phelps, I am a little disappointed that the UK still has so little freedom of speech. Yes, he’s a dick and yes he preaches a horrible, hateful message, and going to a foreign country to preach that message is an even more reprehensible move…but the British government could have handled it much better by shrugging and saying, “Fine, we don’t give a damn what you say.” Let the come, don’t make an issue out of it, and then the government has the moral high ground in most people’s eyes.
*It’s never happened here and I’d imagine it’s less likely in Britain.
You wonder what they are so scared of happening. That someone in Britain might actually believe Phelps?
They should brush up on their very own John Stuart Mill:
It’s too bad the UK wouldn’t let him enter. We could have acted under the Patriot Act to keep him from coming home.
Still has so little freedom of speech? What are you talking about? Freedom of speech is a contract between governments and the population of a country. It doesn’t entail allowing every nutter into the country, from abroad, to cause havoc.
The case with the Dutch MP was different: there is a treaty obligation to allow him free entry. Fred Phelps? We have no obligation to let him enter.
Fred Phelps would be an undesirable entrant into a country that’s not particularly charmed by his real-life trolling. And it’s a hell of a lot easier to keep him from coming in than throwing him out again once he’s crossed the border.
Good on the UK for this one.
Would YOU want to sit next to Fred Phelps on a ten hour* overseas flight? :eek:
*I have no idea how long a flight from Topeka (or KCI, more likely) to London actually takes, but I’d likely be slitting my wrists shortly after take-off…
Can you imagine? He’d probably be praying for it to crash, just to punish all the sinners on board.
Well, there’s no compelling evidence that he’ll cause havoc of any sort. And I think that denying someone a temporary visa on the basis of “I don’t like your religious views” is somewhat…questionable, because it’s approaching the state dictating that there are Right and Wrong religious views.
You do realize that freedom of speech has absolutely zilch to do with border entry requirements, right? How do you think random searches would go over if they were subject to Constitutional challenge?
I sure all hell wouldn’t resort to slitting my wrists. 
That’s laughable, given that causing havoc is what Fred Phelps and the WBC do best.
Come on! No compelling evidence he’d cause havoc? This is a guy who made a name for himself picketing military funerals. It’s a given that he’d cause havoc, and that’s, in all likelihood, the reason why he was coming to the UK.
And really, the state isn’t saying anything about his religion. The UK isn’t banning Christians, or even fundamental Christians, from entering. Rather, it’s banning an odious man from entering the country, for his safety, our own, and for the public good.
(It’s not like banning entry to undesirables is a British peculiarity, as well. Every nation on the Earth does it.)
News from the UK: Only one person turned up at the planned demonstration!
This is supposed to be a Protestant country with an Established Religion, so yes, we can say there are Right and Wrong religious views. We extend toleration to other religions, but toleration is all it is.
As it is, we have a sufficient supply of home-grown bigots without importing some of yours.
And he just showed up because he’d heard the authorities would be searching buttocks for WBC tattoos.
God may hate them, but they love our brains.
Who do you think is behind the Hulu Conspiracy?