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<blockquote data-quote="dennishoddy" data-source="post: 2467709" data-attributes="member: 5412"><p>Fred Phelps and his small congregation provide WBC's funding; the group neither solicits nor accepts outside donations. In addition to this income, the church makes money by winning or settling civil lawsuits involving the church. During the 1990s, the group sued Topeka multiple times for failing to provide sufficient protection during its protests. Although they lost most of their cases, WBC did win $43,000 in legal fees in 1993. According to Shirley Phelps-Roper, they also won more than $100,000 in 1995 in a lawsuit against Kansas' Funeral Picketing Act, which they claimed violated their First Amendment rights. Because the Phelps family represents WBC in court, they can put the fees they win towards supporting the church.</p><p></p><p>As of 2007, several WBC members worked for the state, providing an additional income stream. According to Seattle-based Prison Legal News, members of the Phelps clan then in the employ of the state of Kansas included Fred Phelps' daughter Margie, the Department of Corrections' (DOC) director of re-entry planning; Fred Phelps Jr., a staff attorney with the DOC; and Timothy Phelps, a spokesman for the Shawnee County DOC. Margie Phelps was even awarded "Kansas Correctional Association Employee of the Quarter" in late 2005 - this despite her arrest at a 2004 protest at a dedication ceremony for the Brown v. Board of Education Historical Site in Topeka. Abigail Phelps, another Westboro activist, worked in the staff development office for Kansas' Juvenile Justice Authority. Lee Ann Phelps and Elizabeth Phelps both formerly held positions with the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department.</p><p></p><p>In February 2007, Prison Legal News, which monitors human-rights abuses within America's prison system, filed an ethics complaint with Kansas legal officials against Shirley Phelps-Roper. The complaint alleged that Phelps violated legal ethical canons because of the extreme vitriol she directed toward gays and lesbians on a radio show. The state's Office of the Disciplinary Administrator declined to pursue it, citing the First Amendment.</p><p></p><p>On Oct. 12, 1998, gay student Matthew Shepard died of injuries inflicted in a brutal hate crime in Laramie, Wyo. What vaulted WBC to worldwide infamy was its decision to protest Shepard's funeral held on Oct. 16, 1998. Members picketed carrying signs that read "God Hates Fags" and "AIDS Kills Fags Dead." The group also attempted without success to build a granite monument in a public park in Casper, Wyo., declaring: "Matthew Shepard, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22." The group's website maintains a virtual "memorial" to Matthew Shepard, which depicts him burning in hell.</p><p></p><p>In June 2005, WBC began picketing the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group maintains that God is punishing America for tolerating homosexuality and persecuting WBC. They even claimed that God had chosen to use improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to kill American soldiers because of an August 1995 attack on the WBC compound with a small explosive device. In a June 2005 interview with Fox News, Fred Phelps said: "God is visiting the sins upon America by killing their kids with IEDs ... and the more the merrier."</p><p></p><p>On March 10, 2006, the WBC picketed the funeral of Matthew Snyder, a Marine who was killed while serving in Iraq. WBC members held signs reading "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "You're going to Hell." Matthew's father, Albert Snyder, sued WBC for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress, going to trial in 2007. He originally won a $10.9 million judgment, but it was reversed on appeal in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 8, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal. On March 19, 2010, the Fourth Circuit ordered Albert Snyder to pay more than $16,000 for the WBC's court costs. Snyder described the Fourth Circuit's order as "a slap in the face." In early March 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protected WBC's right to hold protests at funerals.</p><p></p><p>On Oct. 2, 2006, five Amish girls were murdered in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse. The WBC announced plans to picket their funerals, but agreed to abstain in exchange for one hour of airtime on talk-show host Mike Gallagher's radio program. On Oct. 3, 2006, on the Fox News program Hannity and Colmes, Shirley Phelps-Roper said, "They [the Amish girls] did deserve to die."</p><p></p><p>On June 5, 2007, Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested while protesting in Bellevue, Neb. Shirley had allowed her son to stand on an American flag, while she wore a flag around her waist, allowing it to drag along the ground as she walked. Shirley was charged under a Nebraska flag desecration law. She was also charged with negligent child abuse, disturbing the peace, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (because she allowed her son to violate the flag law.) On July 27, 2010, the city of Bellevue dropped the charges of flag desecration and contributing to the delinquency of a child, due to a federal judge declaring the flag desecration law unconstitutional. The city also paid Phelps-Roper $17,000 in a settlement agreement, in exchange for her dropping a pending lawsuit against the city. However, the city did not drop the charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse.</p><p></p><p>WBC members have been banned from other countries because of their hateful views. In August 2008, WBC announced its plans to protest the funeral of a man beheaded on a Greyhound Bus in Canada. In response, Canada barred the group's members from entering the country, and the funeral was conducted uninterrupted. In February 2009, the group planned to travel to Britain to protest a staging of "The Laramie Project," a highly respected play that documents the hate murder of gay student Matthew Shepard and how the incident impacted the community. In response, Britain banned Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper from traveling to the United Kingdom.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="dennishoddy, post: 2467709, member: 5412"] Fred Phelps and his small congregation provide WBC's funding; the group neither solicits nor accepts outside donations. In addition to this income, the church makes money by winning or settling civil lawsuits involving the church. During the 1990s, the group sued Topeka multiple times for failing to provide sufficient protection during its protests. Although they lost most of their cases, WBC did win $43,000 in legal fees in 1993. According to Shirley Phelps-Roper, they also won more than $100,000 in 1995 in a lawsuit against Kansas' Funeral Picketing Act, which they claimed violated their First Amendment rights. Because the Phelps family represents WBC in court, they can put the fees they win towards supporting the church. As of 2007, several WBC members worked for the state, providing an additional income stream. According to Seattle-based Prison Legal News, members of the Phelps clan then in the employ of the state of Kansas included Fred Phelps' daughter Margie, the Department of Corrections' (DOC) director of re-entry planning; Fred Phelps Jr., a staff attorney with the DOC; and Timothy Phelps, a spokesman for the Shawnee County DOC. Margie Phelps was even awarded "Kansas Correctional Association Employee of the Quarter" in late 2005 - this despite her arrest at a 2004 protest at a dedication ceremony for the Brown v. Board of Education Historical Site in Topeka. Abigail Phelps, another Westboro activist, worked in the staff development office for Kansas' Juvenile Justice Authority. Lee Ann Phelps and Elizabeth Phelps both formerly held positions with the Shawnee County Sheriff's Department. In February 2007, Prison Legal News, which monitors human-rights abuses within America's prison system, filed an ethics complaint with Kansas legal officials against Shirley Phelps-Roper. The complaint alleged that Phelps violated legal ethical canons because of the extreme vitriol she directed toward gays and lesbians on a radio show. The state's Office of the Disciplinary Administrator declined to pursue it, citing the First Amendment. On Oct. 12, 1998, gay student Matthew Shepard died of injuries inflicted in a brutal hate crime in Laramie, Wyo. What vaulted WBC to worldwide infamy was its decision to protest Shepard's funeral held on Oct. 16, 1998. Members picketed carrying signs that read "God Hates Fags" and "AIDS Kills Fags Dead." The group also attempted without success to build a granite monument in a public park in Casper, Wyo., declaring: "Matthew Shepard, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: ‘Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22." The group's website maintains a virtual "memorial" to Matthew Shepard, which depicts him burning in hell. In June 2005, WBC began picketing the funerals of American soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. The group maintains that God is punishing America for tolerating homosexuality and persecuting WBC. They even claimed that God had chosen to use improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, to kill American soldiers because of an August 1995 attack on the WBC compound with a small explosive device. In a June 2005 interview with Fox News, Fred Phelps said: "God is visiting the sins upon America by killing their kids with IEDs ... and the more the merrier." On March 10, 2006, the WBC picketed the funeral of Matthew Snyder, a Marine who was killed while serving in Iraq. WBC members held signs reading "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "You're going to Hell." Matthew's father, Albert Snyder, sued WBC for defamation, invasion of privacy, and emotional distress, going to trial in 2007. He originally won a $10.9 million judgment, but it was reversed on appeal in the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. On March 8, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal. On March 19, 2010, the Fourth Circuit ordered Albert Snyder to pay more than $16,000 for the WBC's court costs. Snyder described the Fourth Circuit's order as "a slap in the face." In early March 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment protected WBC's right to hold protests at funerals. On Oct. 2, 2006, five Amish girls were murdered in a Pennsylvania schoolhouse. The WBC announced plans to picket their funerals, but agreed to abstain in exchange for one hour of airtime on talk-show host Mike Gallagher's radio program. On Oct. 3, 2006, on the Fox News program Hannity and Colmes, Shirley Phelps-Roper said, "They [the Amish girls] did deserve to die." On June 5, 2007, Shirley Phelps-Roper was arrested while protesting in Bellevue, Neb. Shirley had allowed her son to stand on an American flag, while she wore a flag around her waist, allowing it to drag along the ground as she walked. Shirley was charged under a Nebraska flag desecration law. She was also charged with negligent child abuse, disturbing the peace, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor (because she allowed her son to violate the flag law.) On July 27, 2010, the city of Bellevue dropped the charges of flag desecration and contributing to the delinquency of a child, due to a federal judge declaring the flag desecration law unconstitutional. The city also paid Phelps-Roper $17,000 in a settlement agreement, in exchange for her dropping a pending lawsuit against the city. However, the city did not drop the charges of disturbing the peace and negligent child abuse. WBC members have been banned from other countries because of their hateful views. In August 2008, WBC announced its plans to protest the funeral of a man beheaded on a Greyhound Bus in Canada. In response, Canada barred the group's members from entering the country, and the funeral was conducted uninterrupted. In February 2009, the group planned to travel to Britain to protest a staging of "The Laramie Project," a highly respected play that documents the hate murder of gay student Matthew Shepard and how the incident impacted the community. In response, Britain banned Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper from traveling to the United Kingdom. [/QUOTE]
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