SANTA FE, N.M., March 25 (UPI) -- Authorities and church officials in Santa Fe, N.M., were preparing for an announced protest by followers of a strident anti-gay activist.
The Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., said it planned protests for next month at a series of churches of various dominations and city offices in the New Mexico capital, the Santa Fe New Mexican reported Friday.
The newspaper said the April 17-18 protest was spurred by community reaction to the beating of two gay men.
Police told the New Mexican it would meet with city leaders, legal advisers and community groups ahead of the protests. Santa Fe Police Chief Beverly Lennen said, "We have a responsibility to assure everyone freedom of speech whether or not we agree."
She warned counter-demonstrators against becoming too passionate or violent against the Westboro group protests.
Westboro Baptist Church is led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, best known for picketing the funeral of Matthew Shepard, who Wyoming authorities said was beaten to death in 1998 because he was gay. Phelps has led similar protests elsewhere, but often church members say they are going to stage a protest and never show, the New Mexican reported.
