And their winning streak is likely to continue, now that the Supreme Court has decided that Westboro's right to free speech trumps the right of families to bury their loved ones undisturbed. When they win, they often receive tens of thousands of dollars in court fees. "They know their First Amendment rights very well, and they've been very good at defending them." "And as a general matter they have won," he says. Over the years the Phelpses have filed lawsuits against communities that try to stop them from demonstrating. The protests are in themselves a source of some income, according to Potok. "We don't ask for anything from anyone, and we don't take anything from anyone." "We all work, and we all pay our own way," she says. They travel in vans to keep down the costs, which she says can add up to $200,000 a year.ĭo they have secret contributors? Phelps-Roper is adamant they do not. "People in town said, 'Well, we don't like them, but if we want to win a case, we'll go to them.' "Ĭhurch spokeswoman Phelps-Roper says their booming employment and family law practice pays the bills for their travels across the country, when they shout their anti-gay message. Growing up as a member of the Westboro Baptist Church, Megan Phelps-Roper was taught that God hated gay people. The group also threatened to picket the funerals of victims of the Tucson, Ariz., shooting and memorial services after the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre. soldiers and AIDS victims with an extremely anti-LGBT stance. "They have a very well-respected law firm in Topeka," Sherman says. The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church gained notoriety for picketing funerals of U.S. Four are estranged from the family, and most of the rest live in the family compound and practice law. "They're not what I expected."Įleven of Fred Phelps' 13 children have law degrees. The daughter herself argued before the United States Supreme Court," Sherman says. AP Fred Phelps is the head of the Westboro Baptist Church, which has picketed funerals of public figures and soldiers killed in war.
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