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[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]

[[Image:Phelps.jpg|right|thumb|Fred Phelps giving an interview in 2000]]

'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was the [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], and a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps was noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has led to the church being classified as a hate group by various organizations. He was said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint" which was generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church are related to the late Phelps either by blood or marriage.

'''Fred Waldron Phelps''' (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was the [[pastor]] of the independent [[Westboro Baptist Church]], an extremist organization located in [[Topeka]], [[Kansas]], and a controversial activist against [[homosexual]] behavior. Phelps was noted for rallies displaying signs with highly inflammatory and [[extremist]] statements. This has led to the church being classified as a hate group by various organizations. He was said to hold a "[[Hyper-Calvinism|hyper-Calvinistic]] viewpoint," which was generally regarded as far outside of mainstream Christianity by most Christian scholars. Most of the congregants of the Westboro Baptist Church are related to the late Phelps either by blood or marriage.

Phelps was a civil rights lawyer, who fought for the rights of African Americans and worked to end many racist policies. However, he also filed several lawsuits against opponents which were later determined to constitute [[malicious prosecution]], and ultimately agreed to permanently surrender his law license as a result.

Phelps was a civil rights lawyer who fought for the rights of African Americans and worked to end many racist policies. However, he also filed several lawsuits against opponents which were later determined to constitute [[malicious prosecution]], and ultimately agreed to permanently surrender his law license as a result.

Phelps openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]], and made claims that these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps was a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]].<ref>[http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#]</ref> and His views are rejected by [[liberals]] and [[conservative]] and [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut".

Phelps openly denounced the [[Catholic Church]] and [[Episcopal Church]], and made claims that these religious organizations tolerate and harbor homosexuals and pedophiles. He also referred to a variety of political figures as "fag-enablers", ranging from Republican Presidents [[Ronald Reagan]] and [[George W. Bush]] to Democrats such as [[Howard Dean]]. Phelps was a vehement critic of [[Dick Cheney]].<ref>[http://video.google.co.uk/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470&q#]</ref> His views are rejected by [[liberals]], [[conservative]]s, and [[Christian]]s; [[evangelical]] leader [[Jerry Falwell]] referred to him as a "first-class nut."

Phelps led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals in order to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006.  Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> and Phelps is represented by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU).<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref>

Phelps led protests at military funerals based on his belief that America is a country that harbors homosexuals and is thus evil. As a result, President [[George W. Bush]] signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which places limitations on protests at military funerals. These demonstrations led to the formation of the [[Patriot Guard]], an organization of motorcyclists who attend military funerals to shield the families of the deceased from the protests by members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church.<ref>[https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2006-09-13-funeral-protests_x.htm Funeral protesters say laws can't silence them], By Charlie Riedel, Associated Press, July 2006.  Retrieved from USA Today October 14, 2007.</ref> Phelps is represented by the [[American Civil Liberties Union]] (ACLU).<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/22/AR2006072200643.html ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials], By Garance Burke, Associated Press, July 23, 2006; Page A02. Retrieved from the ''[[Washington Post]]'' October 14, 2007.</ref>

Phelps was once an active contributor to the [[Democrat Party]] and was an enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for president in 1988,<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> and calling Gore "the icon of the conservative faction of the Democratic Party."<ref name="findarticles.com">http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681</ref> and Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., served as a delegate for Gore.<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> During Gore's 1984 campaign for the U.S. Senate, he was against a bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, and refused to take donations from homosexual rights organizations. Gore said in an interview with the Nashville ''Tennessean'', "I don't pretend to have an understanding of homosexuality that sustains a discussion of its roots ... but I do not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm."<ref>[http://cache.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/Bradley_rips_Gore_s_scare_tactics_to_win_gay_votes+.shtml Bradley rips Gore's 'scare tactics' to win gay votes] By Bob Hohler and Michael Crowley, Globe Staff, 2/15/2000, cache.boston.com, retrieved November 26, 2011</ref>

Phelps was once an active contributor to the [[Democrat Party]] and was an enthusiastic supporter of [[Al Gore]] for president in 1988,<ref>https://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/1999/03/lauerman.html</ref> calling Gore "the icon of the conservative faction of the Democratic Party."<ref name="findarticles.com">http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4179/is_20001104/ai_n11753681</ref> Phelps's son, Fred Phelps, Jr., served as a delegate for Gore.<ref>http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=15559</ref> During Gore's 1984 campaign for the U.S. Senate, he was against a bill that would outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation, and refused to take donations from homosexual rights organizations. Gore said in an interview with the Nashville ''Tennessean'', "I don't pretend to have an understanding of homosexuality that sustains a discussion of its roots ... but I do not believe it is simply an acceptable alternative that society should affirm."<ref>[http://cache.boston.com/news/politics/campaign2000/news/Bradley_rips_Gore_s_scare_tactics_to_win_gay_votes+.shtml Bradley rips Gore's 'scare tactics' to win gay votes] By Bob Hohler and Michael Crowley, Globe Staff, 2/15/2000, cache.boston.com, retrieved November 26, 2011</ref>

In 1992 Phelps supported [[Bill Clinton]] for president, and later became critical of President Clinton's pandering for homosexual voters. Phelps led a  

In 1992 Phelps supported [[Bill Clinton]] for president, and later became critical of President Clinton's pandering for homosexual voters. Phelps led a  

== Phelps and the Democrat Party==

== Phelps and the Democrat Party==

[[Image:20001025 xnjdo FredGoreFiny.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Rev. Fred Phelps with future Vice President and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Al Gore]] at a Westboro Baptist Church event.]]

[[Image:20001025 xnjdo FredGoreFiny.jpg|thumb|240px|right|Rev. Fred Phelps with future Vice President and [[Nobel Peace Prize]] winner [[Al Gore]] at a Westboro Baptist Church event.]]

Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[https://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> and Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democrat Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> and In 1993 and 1997,<ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> and Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps' support of Al Gore took an irrational U-turn in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of Al Gore's father.<ref>http://www.religionnewsblog.com/13170/pastor-who-takes-pride-in-hate-traces-the-emotion-to-bible</ref> and Phelps has been an extremely vocal critic of [[President George W. Bush]] and former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], calling Bush "A Bible pervert." and Of the Cheney family Phelps said, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys."<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref>

Phelps ran for governor of [[Kansas]] as a [[Democrat]] in 1990, 1994, and 1998.<ref name="ref4">[https://edition.cnn.com/ALLPOLITICS/1998/08/05/kansas.results/ 1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly.]</ref> Phelps received 31% of the vote in Kansas's 1992 Democrat Party primary for [[U.S. Senate]].<ref>[http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_statistics.html State of Kansas Secretary of State Website]</ref> In 1993 and 1997,<ref>[http://www.frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=21229 The "God Hates Fags" [[Left]]], By Mark D. Tooley, FrontPageMagazine.com, February 09, 2006.</ref><ref>[http://www.religionnewsblog.com/1128/kansas-anti-gay-church-embarrasses-topekans Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans], November 7, 2002. Retrieved from ReligionNewsBlog.com, October 11, 2007.</ref> Phelps ran for mayor of [[Topeka]]. He supported [[Al Gore]] in the 1988 primaries. Phelps' support of Al Gore took an irrational U-turn in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of Al Gore's father.<ref>http://www.religionnewsblog.com/13170/pastor-who-takes-pride-in-hate-traces-the-emotion-to-bible</ref> Phelps has been an extremely vocal critic of [[President George W. Bush]] and former Vice President [[Dick Cheney]], calling Bush "A Bible pervert." and Of the Cheney family Phelps said, "They know the iniquity they’ve wrought, but they’re not at all ashamed of it...God hates the Cheneys."<ref>http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8194338250744686470#</ref>

== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==

== Phelps and Saddam Hussein ==

After the shooting of Arizona U.S. Representative Gabriella Giffords and the death of six people in Tuscon, Arizona in January 2010, Phelps stated in a video that God had sent the shooter, [[Jared Loughner]], to "avenge the nation's sins", and that Westboro planned to protest at the funerals of the six victims.<ref name="giffords">[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40997616/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/arizona-suspect-could-face-death-penalty/#.Ts2iIFmwXf8 Arizona suspect could face death penalty] msnbc.com, Crime & Courts, January 11, 2010, retrieved November 23, 2011.</ref> and He said, "Thank God for the violent shooter."<ref name="giffords"/> The Arizona state legislature passed an emergency bill barring protestors from within 300 feet of funerals.<ref>[http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-11/us/arizona.funeral.westboro_1_kansas-church-westboro-baptist-church-fred-phelps?_s=PM:US Arizona enacts funeral protest legislation] cnn.com, January 11, 2010, retrieved November 23, 2011.</ref> Westboro later gave up the idea of protesting at the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old girl who died in the shooting, in exchange for airtime on Phoenix and Tuscon radio stations.<ref>[http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/12/westboro-baptist-church-wont-picket-christina-green-funeral/ Westboro Baptist Church Won't Picket Christina Green Funeral] Surge Desk, aolnews.com, January 12, 2011, retrieved on November 23, 2011.</ref>

After the shooting of Arizona U.S. Representative Gabriella Giffords and the death of six people in Tuscon, Arizona in January 2010, Phelps stated in a video that God had sent the shooter, [[Jared Loughner]], to "avenge the nation's sins", and that Westboro planned to protest at the funerals of the six victims.<ref name="giffords">[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40997616/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/t/arizona-suspect-could-face-death-penalty/#.Ts2iIFmwXf8 Arizona suspect could face death penalty] msnbc.com, Crime & Courts, January 11, 2010, retrieved November 23, 2011.</ref> and He said, "Thank God for the violent shooter."<ref name="giffords"/> The Arizona state legislature passed an emergency bill barring protestors from within 300 feet of funerals.<ref>[http://articles.cnn.com/2011-01-11/us/arizona.funeral.westboro_1_kansas-church-westboro-baptist-church-fred-phelps?_s=PM:US Arizona enacts funeral protest legislation] cnn.com, January 11, 2010, retrieved November 23, 2011.</ref> Westboro later gave up the idea of protesting at the funeral of Christina Green, the 9-year-old girl who died in the shooting, in exchange for airtime on Phoenix and Tuscon radio stations.<ref>[http://www.aolnews.com/2011/01/12/westboro-baptist-church-wont-picket-christina-green-funeral/ Westboro Baptist Church Won't Picket Christina Green Funeral] Surge Desk, aolnews.com, January 12, 2011, retrieved on November 23, 2011.</ref>

Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "Lukewarm cowards. Modern day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." and Phelps preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals, referring to them as "the modern day Saduccees", and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref>

Despite efforts by [[leftist]]s to link Phelps to the Religious Right, Phelps refers to Christian conservatives as "Lukewarm cowards. Modern-day Pharisees. People who have gone a whoring after strange gods. Self-righteous hypocrites. They spend more time harassing people who are preaching the Gospel than anything else, just like the Pharisees did to Jesus." Phelps' preaching has much in common with the Reverend [[Jeremiah Wright]]. Phelps also says God hates liberals, referring to them as "the modern day Saduccees," and that they are the ultimate evil.<ref>http://www.godhatesfags.com/faq.html#Right</ref>

===Lawsuits===

===Lawsuits===

Reasons why people call Phelps “hateful”:

Reasons why people call Phelps “hateful”:

*”Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact.  He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear.  The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies.  [[Germany]] was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from [[World War I]].  Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power.  Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches.  Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him.  The Congress of doomed America is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses.  The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people.  They’ll cave like a cheap deck of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants.” and Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>[http://www.beastobama.com Beast Obama website]</ref>   

*”Bloody-Knife Bombastic Big Mouth Bastard Beast Obama is going to change times and laws; we have the word of God for that fact.  He will do this by his charismatic smooth forked tongue, as he’s highly skilled in the art of telling people what they want to hear.  The people of this nation are in terror, at God’s hand, afraid for their future, in distress and crisis, and afraid of many unnamed enemies.  [[Germany]] was stinging and laboring under financial hardship, including punishing reparations from [[World War I]].  Hitler tapped into their national pride and need for financial stability to come to power.  Also like Germany, this nation has weak legislative and judicial branches.  Hitler was able to quickly seize power and strip the German legislative branch of any ability to curtail him.  The Congress of doomed America is full of pandering cowards; they will be putty in Beast Obama’s hands, afraid to oppose him because of the “mandate” he has from the raging masses.  The cowardly congress members have no stability or moral compass, so they are subject to the whim of the people.  They’ll cave like a cheap deck of cards while Obama cleverly and masterfully plays the people like banjos, to get what he wants.” Phelps on beastobama.com launched in early 2009<ref>[http://www.beastobama.com Beast Obama website]</ref>   

*”God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies.”

*”God hates America, and those calamities last Tuesday [September 11, 2001] are none other than the wrath of God, smiting fag America... That wasn't any accident. That wasn't any coincidence. There's only America to blame for those tragedies.”