Seattle Courant Archive

Controversial Kansas "church" wants to erect "Santa Claus will take you to hell" sign at capitol...

Controversial Kansas "church" wants to erect "Santa Claus will take you to hell" sign at capitol...

By Staff
December 10, 2008

All of which is very much in keeping with the church's tactic of spreading its anti-gay message with controversial signs at high-profile funerals and other events.

"We are writing to request the immediate placement of a sign "Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell," outside the Legislative Building of the Washington state legislature...in immediate proximity to the currently-placed nativity scene outside the same building and the `atheists's' posting of late," church pastor Fred W. Phelps wrote to Gov. Chris Gregoire this morning. "...This sign reflects the sincerely held religious beliefs and viewpoints on the topic that has been made a subject of public comment in this public forum, which viewpoint is well-grounded in scripture."

The sign, Phelps writes, is being express delivered to the capitol.

The governor's office confirmed that it's gotten the request, which it sent to the Department of General Administration to handle.

"Holy cow," said Steve Valandra, a spokesman for the department, reading a copy of the letter. "I guess we'll consider it, like all the other requests."

He said he couldn't yet say whether the sign will put up.

A week after an Olympia realtor erected a nativity scene in the capitol and a Wisconsin atheist group in response put up its sign denying that there is a god, the third floor of the state capitol has turned into a showplace for competing holiday messages from different groups. The atheist sign was stolen last week and quickly recovered by the state patrol, which this morning had a trooper keeping close watch on the displays in the capitol.

Valandra said the state has also received recent requests from a Kansas group representing the Flying Spaghetti Monster and a Christian woman in Bellevue who wants to erect a sign offering blessings on all people.

Here's what the Westboro Baptist Church wants to post on a sign at the Washington state capitol:

"Santa Claus Will Take You to Hell"

"You'd better watch out, get ready to cry,
You'd better go hide, I'm telling you why
'cuz Santa Claus will take you to hell.

"He is your favorite idol, you worship at his feet,
but when you stand before your God
He won't help you take the heat.

"So get this fact straight: you're feeling God's hate,
Santa's to blame for the economy's fate,
Santa Claus will take you to hell.

"Don't leave your kids with this red fright
Just like the priests he'll rape 'em at night
Oh Santa Clause will take you to hell.

"You tell the children he is real,
You know that's just a lie,
To justify your own vile sins
That's the only reason why.

"So get this fact straight, you're feelin' God's hate
Santa's to blame for the dead soldier's fate
Santa Claus will take you to hell."