FORT CAMPBELL, Ky., Feb. 18 -- Wearing leather chaps and vests covered in military patches, a band of motorcyclists rolls from one service member's funeral to another in hopes their respectful cheers and revving engines will drown out the insults of protesters.
Calling themselves the Patriot Guard Riders, they are made up of motorcycle club members who could no longer tolerate a Kansas-based fundamentalist church demonstrating at military funerals with signs reading, "Thank God for IEDs ." The bikers shield the families from the protesters and overshadow the jeers with patriotic chants and a display of red-white-and-blue flags.
"The most important thing we can do is let families know that the nation cares," said Don Woodrick, the group's Kentucky captain. "When a total stranger gets on a motorcycle in the middle of winter and drives 300 miles to hold a flag, that makes a powerful statement."
Across the nation, Patriot Guard riders number more than 5,000, and at least 14 states are considering laws aimed specifically at the funeral protest group led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, who believes U.S. deaths in Iraq are divine punishment for a country that, he says, harbors homosexuals.
--source
i remember being in florida for bike week in daytona beach back in the 70's, and i can tell you personally, bikers and gays mix rather nicely.
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