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Fred Phelps, Sr.
Fred Phelps on his video commentary
Born
Fred Waldron Phelps

(1929-11-13) November 13, 1929 (age 94)
Meridian, Mississippi, U.S.
TitlePastor
TermNovember 27, 1955
PredecessorNone (position created)
SuccessorIncumbent
SpouseMargie Marie Simms
Children13:
  • Fred Phelps, Jr.
  • Margie Phelps
  • Shirley Phelps-Roper
  • Jonathon B. Phelps
  • Rebekah Phelps-Davis
  • Elizabeth Phelps
  • Timothy Phelps
  • Rachel Phelps
  • Abigail Phelps

Estranged from family:

Parent(s)Fred Wade Phelps
Catherine Idalette Johnston

Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (born November 13, 1929) is an American pastor who is the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an Independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. The church is monitored as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.[1][2][3] Phelps was a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, a past civil rights activist in Kansas, and a Democrat who has five times been a candidate for political office in Kansas Democratic Party primaries. He and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, are banned from entering the United Kingdom.[4]

Phelps's followers frequently picket various events, especially military funerals, gay pride gatherings, high-profile political gatherings, performances of The Laramie Project, and even Christian gatherings and concerts with which he had no affiliation, arguing it is their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger. In response to Phelps' protests at military funerals, President George W. Bush signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act into law in May 2006,[5] and, in April 2007, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill establishing a 150-foot no-picketing buffer zone around funerals.[6]

He is known for the slogans that he and his ministry use against people he deems sinful, the church is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags", which is also the name of the group's main website.[7] Gay rights activists, as well as Christians of every denomination, have denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech.[8]

Life

Education

In 1947, Phelps enrolled as a student at Bob Jones University, which he left after three semesters.[citation needed] He then spent two semesters at the Prairie Bible Institute.[citation needed] In 1951, he earned a two-year degree from John Muir College. While at John Muir, Phelps was profiled in Time magazine for preaching against "sins committed on campus by students and teachers ... promiscuous petting ... evil language ... profanity ... cheating ... teachers' filthy jokes in classrooms ... [and] pandering to the lusts of the flesh."[9]

Civil rights attorney

Phelps earned a law degree from Washburn University in 1962, and founded the Phelps Chartered law firm in 1964.[citation needed] The first notable cases were related to civil rights. "I systematically brought down the Jim Crow laws of this town," he says.[8] Phelps' daughter was quoted as saying, "We took on the Jim Crow establishment, and Kansas did not take that sitting down. They used to shoot our car windows out, screaming we were nigger lovers," and that the Phelps law firm made up one-third of the state's federal docket of civil rights cases.[10]

Phelps took cases on behalf of African American clients alleging racial discrimination by school systems, and a predominantly black American Legion post which had been raided by police, alleging racially based police abuse.[citation needed] Phelps' law firm obtained settlements for some clients.[11] Phelps also sued then-President Ronald Reagan over Reagan's appointment of a U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, alleging this violated separation of church and state. The case was dismissed by the U.S. district court.[11][12] Phelps' law firm, staffed by himself and family members also represented non-white Kansans in discrimination actions against Kansas Power and Light, Southwestern Bell, and the Topeka City Attorney, and represented two female professors alleging discrimination in Kansas universities.[10]

In the 1980s, Phelps received awards from the Greater Kansas City Chapter of Blacks in Government and the Bonner Springs branch of the NAACP, for his work on behalf of black clients.[13]

Disbarment

A formal complaint was filed against Phelps on November 8, 1977, by the Kansas State Board of Law Examiners for his conduct during a lawsuit against a court reporter named Carolene Brady. Brady had failed to have a court transcript ready for Phelps on the day he asked for it; though it did not affect the outcome of the case for which Phelps had requested the transcript, Phelps still requested $22,000 in damages from her.[citation needed] In the ensuing trial, Phelps called Brady to the stand, declared her a hostile witness, and then cross-examined her for nearly a week, during which he accused her of being a "slut", tried to introduce testimony from former boyfriends whom Phelps wanted to subpoena, and accused her of a variety of perverse sexual acts, ultimately reducing her to tears on the stand.[14] Phelps lost the case; according to the Kansas Supreme Court:

The trial became an exhibition of a personal vendetta by Phelps against Carolene Brady. His examination was replete with repetition, badgering, innuendo, belligerence, irrelevant and immaterial matter, evidencing only a desire to hurt and destroy the defendant. The jury verdict didn't stop the onslaught of Phelps. He was not satisfied with the hurt, pain, and damage he had visited on Carolene Brady.[14]

In an appeal, Phelps prepared affidavits swearing to the court that he had eight witnesses whose testimony would convince the court to rule in his favor. Brady, in turn, obtained sworn, signed affidavits from the eight people in question, all of whom said that Phelps had never contacted them and that they had no reason to testify against Brady. Phelps had committed perjury.[14]

On July 20, 1979, Phelps was permanently disbarred from practicing law in the state of Kansas,[14] though he continued to practice in Federal courts.

In 1985, nine Federal judges filed a disciplinary complaint against Phelps and five of his children, alleging false accusations against the judges. In 1989, the complaint was settled; Phelps agreed to stop practicing law in Federal court permanently, and two of his children were suspended for periods of six months and one year.[15]

Activities and statements

Main article: Westboro Baptist Church

All of Phelps' recent actions were in conjunction with the congregation of Westboro Baptist Church; see Westboro's notable activities. In 2001, Phelps estimated that the WBC had held 40 pickets a week for the previous 10 years.[16]

Religious beliefs

Phelps describes himself as an Old School Baptist, and states that he holds to all five points of Calvinism.[citation needed] Phelps particularly highlights John Calvin's doctrine of unconditional election, the belief that God has elected certain people for salvation before birth, and limited atonement, the belief that Christ only died for the elect, and condemns those who believe otherwise.[citation needed]

Anti-gay

In the movie Hatemongers, members of the Westboro Baptist Church claim their children were being "accosted" by homosexuals in Gage Park, about half-a-mile from the Phelps' home. Shirley Phelps-Roper claims that in the late 1980s Fred Phelps even witnessed a homosexual attempting to lure her then five-year-old son Joshua into some shrubbery. After several complaints to the local government about the large amount of homosexual sex occurring in the park, with no resulting action, the Phelps put up signs warning of homosexual activity. This resulted in much negative attention towards the family. When the Phelps called on local churches to speak against the activity in Gage Park, the churches also lashed against the Phelps family, leading to the family protesting homosexuality on a regular basis.[10]

In 2005, Phelps and his family held a signature drive to bring about a vote to repeal a law that protected homosexuals from workplace discrimination; they collected over 6,000 signatures, enough to bring the measure to a vote. In the aftermath of the election, 64 individuals who'd signed the petition came forward to state that Phelps' family had lied to them about what they were signing, and asked that their names be removed.[17][unreliable source?]

Also in 2005, Phelps' granddaughter Jael was an unsuccessful candidate for Topeka's City Council; she was seeking to replace Tiffany Muller, the first openly gay member of the Topeka City Council.[18]

Anti-Swedish

Phelps and the Westboro church run the website godhatessweden.com. Phelps has declared that the heavy Swedish losses in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, initially overestimated to be near 20,000, were God's punishment of Sweden for the promotion of homosexuality. In particular, Phelps criticized Sweden's prosecution of Åke Green, a Swedish Pentecostal Christian pastor who was prosecuted, but acquitted, under Sweden's law against hate speech because of critical opinions on homosexuality in his sermons. Phelps' website depicted a granite monument designed by himself that says that Green is a Christian martyr and Phelps announced plans to erect copies of the monument throughout the United States.[19]

In response, Green said "I think it is appalling that people say things like that, it is extremely unpleasant," [20] which led to Phelps taking down the monument.

Democratic Party

Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15 percent of the vote in 1998.[21] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31 percent of the vote.[22] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993[23][unreliable source?] and 1997.[24]

Support for Al Gore

Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election.[25] In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" and stated that homosexuality was not something that "society should affirm".[26] Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments.[27] According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps' son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser at his home in Topeka and was a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.[8] Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment, saying "We are not dignifying those stories with a response."[28]

Saddam Hussein

In 2003, before the fall of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War, Phelps wrote Saddam a letter praising his regime for being, in his opinion, "the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets."[29]

Arrests and traveling restrictions

United States

In 1994, Phelps was convicted for disorderly conduct and received two suspended 30-day jail sentences.[30][30][31]

Phelps' 1995 conviction for assault and battery carried a five-year prison sentence, with a mandatory 18 months to be served before he became eligible for parole. Phelps fought to be allowed to remain free until his appeals process went through. Days away from being arrested and sent to prison, a judge ruled that Phelps had been denied a speedy trial and that he was not required to serve any time.[30][31]

United Kingdom

On February 18, 2009, two days before the Westboro Baptist Church's first ever UK picket, the UK Home Office announced that Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper would be refused entry and that "other church members could also be flagged and stopped if they tried to enter Britain".[32] In May 2009 he and his daughter Shirley were placed on the Home Office's "name and shame" list of people barred from entering the UK for "fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence".[4]

Lawsuit against Westboro Baptist Church

On March 10, 2006, WBC picketed the funeral of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, who died in combat in Iraq on March 3, 2006.[33] The Snyder family sued Fred Phelps for defamation, invasion of privacy, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.[34] On October 31, 2007, WBC, Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis, were found liable for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. A federal jury awarded Snyder's father $2.9 million in compensatory damages, then later added a decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and an additional $2 million for causing emotional distress (A total of $10. 9 million).[35][36] The organization said it wouldn't change its message because of the verdict.

The lawsuit named Albert Snyder, father of Matthew Snyder, as the plaintiff and Fred W. Phelps, Sr.; Westboro Baptist Church, Inc.; Rebekah Phelps-Davis; and Shirley Phelps-Roper as defendants, alleging that they were responsible for publishing defamatory information about the Snyder family on the Internet, including statements that Albert and his wife had "raised [Matthew] for the devil" and taught him "to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery." Other statements denounced them for raising their son Catholic. Snyder further complained the defendants had intruded upon and staged protests at his son's funeral. The claims of invasion of privacy and defamation arising from comments posted about Snyder on the Westboro website were dismissed on First Amendment grounds, but the case proceeded to trial on the remaining three counts.

Albert Snyder, the father of LCpl Matthew A. Snyder, testified:

They turned this funeral into a media circus and they wanted to hurt my family. They wanted their message heard and they didn't care who they stepped over. My son should have been buried with dignity, not with a bunch of clowns outside.

In his instructions to the jury U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett stated that the First Amendment protection of free speech has limits, including vulgar, offensive and shocking statements, and that the jury must decide "whether the defendant's actions would be highly offensive to a reasonable person, whether they were extreme and outrageous and whether these actions were so offensive and shocking as to not be entitled to First Amendment protection." See also Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, a case where certain personal slurs and obscene utterances by an individual were found unworthy of First Amendment protection, due to the potential for violence resulting from their utterance.

WBC sought a mistrial based on alleged prejudicial statements made by the judge and violations of the gag order by the plaintiff's attorney. An appeal was also sought by the WBC. WBC has said that it is thankful for the verdict.

On February 4, 2008, Bennett upheld the ruling but reduced the punitive damages from $8 million to $2.1 million. The total judgment then stood at $5 million. Court liens were ordered on church buildings and Phelps' law office in an attempt to ensure that the damages were paid. [37]

An appeal by WBC was heard on September 24, 2009. The federal appeals court ruled in favor of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church, stating that their picket near the funeral of LCpl Matthew A. Snyder is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family, reversing the lower court's $5 million judgment.[38] On March 30, 2010, the federal appeals court ordered Albert Snyder to pay the court costs for the Westboro Baptist Church, an amount totaling $16,510.[39] Political commentator Bill O'Reilly agreed on March 30 to cover the costs, pending appeal.[40]

A writ of certiorari was granted on an appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States, so the case will come up for review in the court's next term in October 2010.[41][dead link]

People targeted by Fred Phelps

Since the early 1990s, Phelps has targeted several individuals and groups in the public eye for criticism by the Westboro Baptist Church after their deaths. Prominent examples include President Ronald Reagan, Diana, Princess of Wales, Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, National Football League star Reggie White, Sonny Bono, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, atheists, Islam and Muslims, murdered college student Matthew Shepard, the late children's television host Fred Rogers, the late Australian actor Heath Ledger, Jews,[42] Catholics, Swedes, the Irish and US soldiers killed in Iraq. He has also targeted the Joseph Estabrook Elementary School in Lexington, Massachusetts, center of the David Parker controversy. In 2007 he stated that he would target the late Rev. Jerry Falwell's funeral.[43]

Shirley Phelps-Roper, a daughter of Fred Phelps, has appeared on Fox News, defending the WBC and attacking homosexuality. She and her children have also appeared on the Howard Stern radio show to promote their agenda and church. However, every time they appear, they are the subjects of ridicule and taunting.

Phelps' followers have repeatedly protested the University of Kansas School of Law's graduation ceremonies.

In August 2007, in the wake of the Minneapolis I-35W bridge collapse, Phelps and his congregation stated that they will protest at the funerals of the victims. In a statement, the church said that Minneapolis is the "land of the Sodomite damned."[44]

Efforts to discourage funeral protests

Legislation

On May 24, 2006, the United States House and Senate passed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which President George W. Bush signed five days later. The act bans protests within 300 feet of national cemeteries — which numbered 122 when the bill was signed—from an hour before a funeral to an hour after it. Violators face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison.[45]

As of April 2006, at least 17 states have banned protests near funeral sites immediately before and after ceremonies, or are considering it. These are: Illinois,[46][47] Indiana,[48] Iowa,[49] Kansas,[50] Kentucky,[51] Louisiana,[52] Maryland,[53] Michigan,[54] Missouri,[55] which passed the law, and Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma,[56] South Carolina,[57] South Dakota, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.[58] Florida increased the penalty for disturbing military funerals, amending a previous ban on the disruption of lawful assembly.[59]

These bans have been contested. Bart McQueary, having protested with Phelps on at least three occasions,[60] filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging the constitutionality of Kentucky's funeral protest ban. On September 26, 2006, a district court agreed and entered an injunction prohibiting the ban from being enforced.[60] In the opinion, the judge wrote:

Sections 5(1)(b) and (c) restrict substantially more speech than that which would interfere with a funeral or that which would be so obtrusive that funeral participants could not avoid it. Accordingly, the provisions are not narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest but are instead unconstitutionally overbroad.

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit in Missouri on behalf of Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church to overturn the ban on the picketing of soldier's funerals.[61] The ACLU of Ohio also filed a similar lawsuit.[62]

Other responses

WBC is listed as a "hate group" by the Southern Poverty Law Center.[3]

To counter the Phelps protests at funerals of soldiers, a group of motorcycle riders has formed the Patriot Guard Riders to provide a nonviolent, volunteer buffer between the protesters and mourners.[45]

On August 28, 2010, members of the WBC were attacked with chemical mace while protesting at the funeral of a fallen US Marine in Omaha, Nebraska.[63]

Phelps in the media

The Phelps family was the subject of the TV programme The Most Hated Family in America; presented on the BBC by Louis Theroux.[64] Kevin Smith is producing a horror film entitled Red State featuring a religious fundamentalist based on Phelps as a villain.[65][66]

Electoral history

Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas, 1990

Democratic primary for United States Senate, Kansas 1992

  • Gloria O'Dell: 111,015 (69.20%)
  • Fred Phelps: 49,416 (30.80%)

Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas, 1994

  • Jim Slattery: 84,389 (53.02%)
  • Joan Wagnon: 42,115 (26.46%)
  • James Francisco: 16,048 (10.08%)
  • Leslie Kitchenmaster: 11,253 (7.07%)
  • Fred Phelps: 5,349 (3.36%)

Democratic primary for Governor of Kansas, 1998

  • Tom Sawyer: 88,248 (85.28%)
  • Fred Phelps: 15,233 (14.72%)

Source

See also

Footnotes

  1. ^ "Westboro Baptist Church: About WBC". Extremism in America. Anti-Defamation League. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  2. ^ Potok, Mark (2006). "The Year In Hate, 2005". Intelligence Report. 121. Southern Poverty Law Center. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b "Active U.S. Hate Groups". Southern Poverty Law Center. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "The Home Office list of people banned from the UK". London: guardian.co.uk. May 5, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  5. ^ Pickler, Nedra; Associated Press (May 30, 2006). "Bush Says U.S. Must Honor War Dead". The Washington Post. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  6. ^ Carpenter, Tim (April 13, 2007). "A buffer for mourners". The Topeka Capital-Journal. Retrieved April 13, 2010.
  7. ^ GodHatesFags.com registration information
  8. ^ a b c Lauerman, Kerry (1999). "The Man Who Loves To Hate". Mother Jones. Retrieved April 13, 2010. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  9. ^ "Repentance in Pasadena". Time. 1951-06-11. Retrieved 2008-04-06.
  10. ^ a b c Donna Ladd (1999-09-09), A Love/Hate Thing: Web prank stonewalls anti-gay attorneys, OC Weekly, retrieved 2010-09-08
  11. ^ a b Joe Taschler and Steve Fry, As a lawyer, Phelps was good in court, The Topeka Capital-Journal, retrieved 2006-12-20
  12. ^ U.S. Department of Justice (1986-10). "On Petition for a Writ of Certiorari to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit" (txt). United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2007-11-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church: In Their Own Words, Anti-Defamation League, 2006-06-21, retrieved 2006-12-14
  14. ^ a b c d State v. Phelps, 226 Kan. 371, 598 P.2d 180 (Kan. 1979) (Kansas Supreme Court opinion) (Opinion online at http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16353368333889772229 ; see also appeal to Tenth Circuit online at http://openjurist.org/662/f2d/649/phelps-v-kansas-supreme-court)
  15. ^ "Southern Poverty Law Center, Fred Phelps timeline". Splcenter.org. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  16. ^ A City Held Hostage Southern Poverty Law Center, 2001
  17. ^ 365Gay.com staff. "Phelps Clan Forces Vote on Gay Rights Law." 5 January 2005.
  18. ^ Topeka Capital-Journal. "A District." 23 February 2005.
  19. ^ God Hates Sweden!!! Telling Bible Truth is not a Crime!!!![dead link]
  20. ^ "Swedish pastor disowns US hate site", The Local
  21. ^ "1998 Kansas Primary Results. Compiled by Congressional Quarterly". Edition.cnn.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  22. ^ "State of Kansas Secretary of State Website". Kssos.org. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  23. ^ "Kansas anti-gay church embarrasses Topekans". Religionnewsblog.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  24. ^ "FrontPage Magazine". Frontpagemag.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  25. ^ Tooley, Mike D. (February 9, 2006). The "God Hates Fags" Left. FrontPageMagazine.com
  26. ^ Hohler, Bob (2000-02-15). "Bradley rips Gore's 'scare tactics' to win gay votes". Boston Globe. Retrieved 2006-10-01. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Hogenson, Scott (2000-10-16). "Gore Sought Support of 'God Hates Fags' Creator in '88". Cybercast News Service. Retrieved 2006-12-14.
  28. ^ Dougherty, John E. (2000-10-25). "Gore sought help from anti-homosexual group". World Net Daily. Retrieved 2006-09-19.
  29. ^ Anti-Defamation League. "Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church: In their own words." 2006.
  30. ^ a b c Southern Poverty Law Center. Timeline of the life of Fred Phelps, Sr.
  31. ^ a b Musser, Rick. "Fred Phelps versus Topeka." Republished from Culture Wars & Local Politics, ed. Elaine B. Sharp. University of Press Kansas. 2000.Cloth ISBN 0-7006-0935-0, Paper ISBN 0-7006-0936-9.
  32. ^ "BBC News – Anti-gay preachers banned from UK". bbc.co.uk. February 19, 2009. Retrieved 2009-02-19.
  33. ^ Supreme Court to hear case on protests, LA Times By David G. Savage, March 9, 2010, retrieved on April 2, 2010
  34. ^ http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8673839.stm
  35. ^ Dominguez, Alex (2007-10-31). "Jury Awards Father $2.9M in Funeral Case". Associated Press.
  36. ^ Dominguez, Alex (2007-10-31). "Jury awards father $11M in funeral case". Associated Press.
  37. ^ "Damages Reduced in Funeral Protest Case". Associated Press. 2008-02-06.
  38. ^ "Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal – Baltimore Sun". Military.com. 2009-09-25. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  39. ^ Marine's dad ordered to pay protesters' court fees[dead link]
  40. ^ Lamothe, Dan (April 6, 2010). "Snyder-Phelps fight has many twists, turns". Marine Corps Times. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
  41. ^ "Court to rule of funeral pickets". SCOTUSblog. 2010-03-08. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  42. ^ Anti-Defamation League. Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church: In Their Own Words. Retrieved April 2, 2007.
  43. ^ Bonisteel, Sara. "Anti-Gay Kansas Church Members Plan to Picket Falwell Funeral", FOX News, May 17, 2007.
  44. ^ Black, Eric "Fred Phelps is Coming", Minnesota Monitor, August 7, 2007.
  45. ^ a b Abrams, Jim. "Congress Bars Military Funeral Protesters". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  46. ^ Blagojevich Signs Funeral Protest Bill.[dead link]
  47. ^ http://www.illinois.gov/pressreleases/ShowPressRelease.cfm?SubjectID=1&RecNum=4891
  48. ^ "Ind. enacts funeral-protest law". Firstamendmentcenter.org. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  49. ^ Vilsack orally 'signs' funeral bill – Metro[dead link]
  50. ^ http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/14090898.htm [dead link]
  51. ^ "Ky. enacts limits for funeral protests". Firstamendmentcenter.org. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  52. ^ Senate committee approves bill to limit funeral protests.[dead link]
  53. ^ Funeral Protest Ban Clears Maryland House[dead link]
  54. ^ WLNS TV 6 Lansing Jackson Michigan News and Weather - WLNS.COM | Our Apologies[dead link]
  55. ^ POSTED: 9:55 pm CST March 1, 2006 (2006-03-01). "Blunt Signs Funeral Protest Bill – Kansas City News Story – KMBC Kansas City". Thekansascitychannel.com. Retrieved 2010-07-09.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  56. ^ OkInsider.com – Selected News Story[dead link]
  57. ^ "2005–2006 Bill 4965: Funeral services – www.scstatehouse.net – LPITS". www.scstatehouse.net. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  58. ^ "WorldWide Religious News-Wisconsin enacts ban on protests at funerals". Wwrn.org. 2006-02-21. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  59. ^ "HB 7127 – Disturbance of Assemblies". Myfloridahouse.gov. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  60. ^ a b http://www.aclu-ky.org/Funeral%20Protest%20PI%20Order%20&%20Opinion%2009%2027%2006.pdf [dead link]
  61. ^ Burke, Garance (July 23, 2006). "ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 2, 2010.
  62. ^ http://www.acluohio.org/pressreleases/2006_press_releases/2006.05.08.htm [dead link]
  63. ^ http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2010/aug/28/1-arrested-outside-omaha-funeral-fallen-marine/
  64. ^ "BBC". BBC News. 2007-03-30. Retrieved 2010-07-09.
  65. ^ http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1598264/20081030/story.jhtml
  66. ^ http://www.nme.com/movies/news/casting-for-kevin-smiths-political-horror-red-state-begins/181331
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