Petition urges White House to classify Westboro church as hate group

WASHINGTON | Thu Dec 27, 2012 2:29pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 475,000 people have signed petitions asking the White House to crack down on Westboro Baptist Church after the group, known for holding anti-gay demonstrations at funerals, threatened to picket in Newtown, Connecticut.

Newtown was the site of a school massacre on December 14 in which 20 young children and six adults were killed.

Five petitions posted on the White House website since the shootings have asked the government to name the church, based in Topeka, Kansas, as a hate group or end its tax-exempt status. The requests were among the most popular on the White House site on Thursday.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, a civil rights organization, has called the church "arguably the most obnoxious and rabid hate group in America" because of the anti-gay signs its members have carried at hundreds of military funerals. The protests reflect their view that God is punishing America for tolerance of gays and lesbians.

The church has successfully defended its right to free speech in court. The church could not be immediately reached for comment.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on whether it would address the petitions.

The White House has a policy of responding to petitions that reach a threshold of 25,000 signatures but does not comment on certain law enforcement issues that are within the jurisdiction of federal agencies or courts, according to its website.

Obama last week asked Americans to pressure Congress to help tighten gun laws. He responded after several hundred thousand people signed a dozen petitions calling for tougher gun laws following the Newtown attack.

Twenty-year-old Adam Lanza used a military-style assault rifle to kill 20 elementary school children and seven adults, including his mother shot earlier at the family home, then he took his own life.

Obama has called for Congress to approve a ban on the sale of military-style assault weapons and a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, as well as measures to ensure background checks for gun purchases at gun shows.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton and Peter Rudegeair; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

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Obama urges Americans to keep up pressure for tighter gun control

U.S. President Barack Obama takes questions from members of the media in the White House Briefing Room December 19, 2012.

Credit: Reuters/Kevin Lamarque

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON | Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:05pm EST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama urged Americans on Friday to keep up the pressure on lawmakers to tighten gun regulations as a result of the mass shooting of 26 people in Newtown, Connecticut, a week ago.

Obama issued a videotaped response to the several hundred thousand people who have signed a petition posted on the White House website calling for toughened gun laws in response to the shooting, in which 20 school children and six adults were killed at a Newtown school.

"I need your help," Obama said in the video. "If we're going to succeed, it's going to take a sustained effort from mothers and fathers, daughters and sons, law enforcement and responsible gun owners, organizing, speaking up, calling their members of Congress as many times as it takes, standing up and saying 'Enough' on behalf of all our kids."

Obama has called for Congress to approve a ban on the sale in the United States of military-style assault weapons, a ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition clips, and to ensure everyone gets a background check before they buy a gun, even if the purchase takes place at an open-air gun show currently exempt from such requirements.

For years Americans have been reluctant to impose greater restrictions on gun purchases, but the Newtown shooting has changed many minds and Obama is seeking to take advantage of the shift in attitude.

He has directed Vice President Joe Biden and a team of Cabinet officials to offer concrete proposals by next month on how to tighten gun laws and improve Americans' access to mental healthcare, strengthen school safety and address a culture that glorifies guns and violence.

Obama said he would push for these proposals early next year.

"You've started something and now I ask you to keep at it," he said.

(Editing by Philip Barbara)

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