Westboro church threat to picket Newtown sparks call for action
 

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A man wearing the school colors of Sandy Hook Elementary School links arms with people in anticipation of blocking the view of the protesters from the Westboro Baptist Church near the wake of school principal Dawn Hochsprung on Dec. 19 in Woodbury, Conn.
 
By 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, Conn.

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

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Five petitions posted on the White House website since the shootings have asked the government to name the church, based in Topeka, Kan., 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. Church members say 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.

NRA chief wants armed officers in schools

More than 48,000 people have signed a petition that they posted on the White House website demanding that British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan be deported over comments he made on air about gun control. Morgan lambasted pro-gun guests on his show after the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

"We demand that Mr. Morgan be deported immediately for his effort to undermine the Bill of Rights and for exploiting his position as a national network television host to stage attacks against the rights of American citizens," the petition said.

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.

Slideshow: Newtown school massacre
There are 83 pictures, lots from funerals
I do not want to add distress by showing them. The link above will take you there   
Brendan Smialowski / AFP - Getty Images
A nation mourns after the second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history at Sandy Hook Elementary, which left 20 children and six staff members dead.


Parents asked priest about kids' last moments
Newtown, Connecticut priest Monsignor Robert Weiss, who has been consoling the families of victims lost on Friday, says parents asked whether their child knew what was happening as the shooting took place.

Mike Garbowski of Newtown, Conn., begins to erect a fence he built on Dec. 19 that will bear the names of all of those killed in the Dec. 14 shootings at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Zong Yang Tan, right, and Guan Fu Jiang light candles at the makeshift memorial in the center of Sandy Hook village on Monday, Dec. 17, 2012, in Newtown, Conn. Tan, a native of China who works for a car service in New York City, says he thinks "the U.S. government must control the guns."

Teddy bears with the names of some of the victims of the elementary school shooting, at a makeshift shrine to the victims in Newtown on Dec. 17.

Kanga Kanh, left, and Channary Pich prepare to place 26 balloons at a makeshift memorial at the entrance to Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 17. The pair, "like sisters," from North Haven, Conn., and Bronx, N.Y., wrote the victims' names on each balloon. Kanh, who has two children, ages 7 and 4, said: "Every day I do fear for my son when he's in school too."

A man hugs his daughter while visiting a memorial to the victims in Sandy Hook Village in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 16.

Eric Mueller places wooden painted angels outside his home in Newtown, Dec. 16.

Parishioners pay their respects to the victims while arriving for mass at St. Rose of Lima Church in Newtown, Dec. 16.


A woman puts flowers next to crosses on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Dec. 15 as a tribute to the Newtown shooting victims.


World mourns tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary
NBC’s Keir Simmons takes a look at how countries around the world are mourning the unbelievable tragedy that has shaken Newtown, Conn.

Pakistani children light candles in Karachi to pay tribute to the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting victims.