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By Bill Berkowitz and Greg Paroff
The Topeka, Kansas, Baptist preacher proudly boasts he and his family have picketed 20,000 gay-friendly places and events including universities, city halls, state capitals, arts performances and small businesses. Phelps and supporters (who mostly consists of his children and grandchildren) thrust themselves into the national spotlight several years back by picketing the funeral of President Clinton's mother, and the funeral of Randy Shilts, the San Francisco-based gay journalist and author of several books including And the Band Played On. Phelps' most infamous public appearance, to date, came at the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay college student who, in 1998, was beaten and crucified in Laramie, Wyoming. At the time, even the most hard-bitten fundamentalists acknowledged that protesting the funeral was inappropriate. Recently, according to the Detroit Free Press, the Phelps clan targeted the Aut Bar (the phonetic spelling of "out") in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Phelps' web site, godhatesfags.com, opens with a yellow sign reading, "Warning!! Gospel Preaching Ahead." As of early April, the web site had logged over 1.7 million hits. The Matthew Shepard section of the site proclaims "Matthew Shepard has been in hell for 910 days. Deal with it! All else is trivial and unimportant. All the fag caterwauling, candlelight vigils, court orders, etc., can't buy Matt one drop of water to cool his tongue." " Under the heading of "Love Crusades," Phelps lays out his picketing schedule, which included two recent visits to Kansas City, Missouri, where Phelps targeted the, "filthy, world-famous, British fag star, Elton John," and the, "bloody Barbara Bush and the Bush family of faithless dissemblers." Makes you wonder who, in addition to the Phelps clan, is on his side. In early April, the Detroit Free Press reported that Keith Orr took his organizing skills on the road, and flew to his hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, where he helped a gay organization raise $5,000 from Phelps' appearance at the University of Wisconsin.
The Rev. Fred Phelps (second from the right) and his supporters protest outside the funeral of Matthew Shepard
According to the Daily Cardinal, about 10 demonstrators stood outside the
Union, enclosed in barricades and accompanied by police officers, holding
signs with phrases such as, "Matt [Shepard] 2 Years in Hell," "Pro-Gay Media
Shame," and "AIDS is God's Curse." Phelps' group came to Madison to protest
the Madison Metropolitan School District's decision to hire a counselor to
support students dealing with sexual orientation issues.
After the Phelps clan left the student Union, state Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, told protesters, "Remember, Mr. Phelps, you're not in Kansas anymore. And, believe me, this community knows Judy Garland." Later, U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, told the counter-rally not to feel marginalized by the Phelps group. "Two things keep us oppressed--them and us," Baldwin told the crowd. If gays stay locked in their closets, other gays will never know to come out. They will always think they are alone. You are not alone, Baldwin said. Given Phelps' modus operandi and flair for the dramatic, there should be ample opportunities for gay and lesbian organizations to take full advantage of having the Phelps clan invade their communities. Greg Paroff is a freelance writer. Bill Berkowitz is an Oakland-based freelance writer covering the Religious Right and related conservative movements. |
The Rev. Fred Phelps: Doing his part for the gay movement through bigotry 
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