Homophobe Fred Told To Pay Up

(Detroit, Michigan) Mundy Township has sent 'God Hates Fags' preacher Fred Phelps a bill for $5,000 and says if he and his followers don't pay he'll be hauled into court. Phelps and his followers at what he calls Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas regularly announce they are about to stage demonstrations in communities across the country to denounce homosexuality. Usually they actually show up at only a fraction of the locals. Lately the group - mostly Phelps' relatives - has been demonstrating at the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, accusing America of incurring God's wrath because it is soft on homosexuality. 

A motorcycle group of former servicemembers has been traveling the country setting up a line of flags to block out the Phelps' protests. The Phelps' clan told officials n Mundy Township, about 50 miles northwest of Detroit, recently that they planned to demonstrate at a memorial service for Marine Lance Cpl. Brandon and called on the township to provide security claiming there could be violence if their right to free speech is threatened. Police Chief David Guigear put a special detail on duty for the protest but the Phelps protestors failed to show up. Guigear says the group gave no warning it wasn't coming and the township wants to be reimbursed for the cost of the extra policing. Westboro member and it's lawyer Shirley Phelps-Roper says the group didn't show up because the Holy Ghost told them at the last minute to stay home. Phelps-Roper says there's no way its going to pay.

Police "took an oath, and their duty is to keep the peace," Phelps-Roper said. "If they do anything as foolish” as sending a bill, she said, "I'll laugh all the way to the trash can." Michigan has a law restricting protests at military funerals and in the U.S. House voted 408-3 in favor of similar legislation. Phelps operates the 'God Hates Fags' Web site.

He and his followers first gained national notoriety when they demonstrated at the funeral of Matthew Shepherd, a young gay man murdered in 1998. Since then they have protested at churches and schools the church says support gays.

*by 365Gay.com Newscenter Staff 

 **Wizard's note: He is not a discrimiator! He hates everybody the same! Visit GodHatesCanada I wonder if Rev. Phelps knows how many people are laugin' at 'im?