Fred Phelps Died. I Have Some Thoughts.

Fred Phelps, Sr., former leader of the infamousWestboro Baptist Churchof Topeka, Kansas, is dead. Hedied on Wednesday night in hospice care. Phelps hit the international news scene when he and his church protestedMatthew Shepherd's funeralin 1998 bearing signs that reflect their website's URL: God Hates Fags.

I live in Kansas City. I had never heard of Fred Phelps until I went to a Lipizzaner horse show in Topeka with a friend and was shocked to see a group of people holding up signs saying i...