Protesters to picket several sites in S.D.
By Eleanor Yang Su
October 16, 2009

Once deemed sacred sanctuaries off-limits to criminals, religious institutions are becoming vulnerable targets to shootings, thefts and protests because of their low-tech security and open environment. San Diego religious leaders’ reactions have ranged from hiring armed guards to taking extra precaution with collection plates and church offerings.

The measures may sound extreme, but they could be tested today and through the weekend.
Protesters from a Midwestern group called Westboro Baptist Church will picket the Rock Church and more than a dozen other San Diego churches, synagogues and high schools beginning today to spread its anti-gay, anti-Semitic message.

The group has made news nationally with demonstrations outside places of worship, schools and even at military funerals. The group says its protests at funerals are intended to highlight its belief that God is killing U.S. soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan to punish America for condoning homosexuality.

Many religious leaders say they have been spurred into action by protests and recent violent attacks. An abortion doctor was shot and killed in May while serving as an usher in a Lutheran church in Kansas. Two months before that, a Baptist pastor in Illinois was shot and killed during a service. He used a Bible to shield himself from bullets.

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