Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Friday, April 30, 1999
Message of hate delivered to Wyoming
Right: Charles Hickenbarger, one of Fred Phelps' followers, demonstrates in front of the Washburn University law school last fall. Below: Two young members of Phelps' church talk casually while demonstrating on the lawn of Allen Fieldhouse before Desmond Tutu's speech earlier this month. Phelps and his followers have traveled across the United States spreading their message of hate against homosexuality.
Continued from page 1A
He preached with an enigmatic authority, a presence that demanded attention and unwavering conviction.
A penetrating glare beamed from underneath his Marlboro Man cowboy hat. Phelps' face was none other than that of pure hatred.
It is not a face that is new to residents of either Topeka or Lawrence. Phelps and his signs—"AIDS cures fags," "God hates fags," "Fags die. God laughs," — are a fixture in both towns, and the group's appearance at KU's Lied Center events are as predictable as the changing seasons. But, of late, Phelps has decided to take his rancor on the road. He and his group have popped up in small towns and large cities across the nation. He was named in George magazine as the fifth most fascinating man in politics and has been featured recently in Rolling Stone and Mother Jones magazines. In fact, he has begun traveling so far and wide that any city hall anywhere in America might find Westboro Baptist Church's venomous faxes spilling out of their machine, an advisory to prepare; Phelps is on the way.
Spreading the Word
The crusades of Phelps & Co. have taken them and their picket signs to locations both predictable and surprising: San Francisco City Hall because the city passed a gay rights ordinance; Oral Roberts University because the president divorced and remarried, Baylor University and Iowa State University for "selling out to the militant Sodomites"; Baghdad, to let Sadam Hussein know that "Fag U.S.A. = Sodom"; Phoenix for the city's gay pride parade. The list goes on.
Although plenty of detractors have criticized Phelps as media hungry, in his mind, he is no such thing: "I'll give you my job description," he tells me. "Those old preachers laid their hands on my head. It called a Baptist ordination. September 8, 1947. Then they deliver a charge. One of them delivered mine out of Isaiah 58:1. 'Cry aloud; spare not; lift thy voice like a trumpet and show my people their transgression.' That's my job. 'Cry aloud.' How do you do that high deed but get where the people are? I've been faithful to that charge 51 years now."
For ideological reasons that vary from clear to extremely murky, WBC has picked the funerals of celebrities and political figures such as Sen. Barry Goldwater from Arizona, Rep. Sonny Bono from California, President Bill Clinton's mother, Vice President Al Gore's father, Frank Sinatra, slain guy man Billy Jack Gaither and, of course, Matthew Shepard.
First Amendment Fences
With Phelps' impending arrival, many towns have looked to Kansas for guidance in coping with WBC's patently offensive brand of picketing and preaching.
Zack Phelps-Roper, 7, Grace Phelps-Roper, 5, and Gabriel Phelps-Roper, age 3, often picket with the rest of the Westboro congregation.
The most recent examples are Casper, where Matthew Shepard's funeral was held, and Laramie, where the trial of one of his confessed killers was to be held. Jack Stewart, Casper city attorney, described the day of the funeral as "a public safety nightmare." The city had received threats on Phelps' life.
"But we wanted to protect everyone's First Amendment rights," he said.
Stewart and his staff dove head-long into First Amendment case law to put together a funeral picketing ordinance that would pass Constitutional muster. It was molded after Topeka's, which the U.S. Supreme Court refused to reverse in an appeal by Westboro. It dictates that funeral picketing must occur at least 50 feet away from the entrance to the building where the funeral is held.
To further ensure a peaceful protest, the Phelps group and a like-minded group from Texas were placed in a fenced containment area similar to the setup used to control the press and the public during the Timothy McVeigh trial in Denver.
Stewart said that he couldn't have been more pleased with the way things went.
it was Constitutional law on the ground level," he said.
In Laramie, city officials ran an advertisement in the local paper prior to WBC's arrival warning citizens about what to expect from Phelps and how to react.
"These people would relish a confrontation to generate support for their cause. We ask that you not dignify their presence here by confronting them", the ad read, "ignore them. Do not engage them in debate. Do not be provoked into a physical confrontation."
It was signed by Philip Dubois, President of the University of Wyoming and Dave Williams, mayor of Laramie.
Laramie City Manager Kelly Arnold, who earned a Master's in Public Administration from the University of Kansas and has witnessed Phelps' tactics first-hand, said his conversations with Topeka Chief Administrative Officer John Arnold and a letter from Topeka Mayor Joan Wagnon helped Laramie's government settle on the strategy for the ad. Wagnon sends the letter to all the cities that WBC visits.
Topeka Shares its Tactics
Other places that have turned to Topeka for aid with the Phelps road show include Philadelphia, Province-town, Mass., Columbia, Mo., and Phoenix. The man in Topeka who often fields those calls is Ed Klump, Topeka deputy chief of police. He said that he had been called in about 11 times during the past year.
Klump's goal is to let the towns know what to expect, help them allocate security resources, and, above all, set up a dialogue between a city representative and a member of the Phelps group.
Klump said that the way the people of Topeka dealt with Phelps was very different than the way that they did five or six years ago.
"We have established some things with the Phelps that allow us to work things out," he said. "Their method of protesting is different, and the public's response is different."
Different how? Klump said that he would rather not elaborate.
In many ways, the way that a town reacts to Phelps is a reflection of the forces and resources operating within the community. Elaine B. Sharp, professor of political science, recently edited a University of Kansas Press book called "Culture Wars and Local Politics," published
'Holding Our Community Hostage'
this spring. She said that hot-button issues such as abortion, gambling, prostitution and pornography were concerns that were fundamentally moral but could shape a local government's political landscape.
Sharp said that her book included a chapter about Fred Phelps and Topeka because Phelps' culture war demonstrated the way a local government had coped with a controversy that was tied to one such morality-based issue.
"The city's initial efforts to evade the controversy gave way to repressive measures when the minister's efforts threatened the city's national image, and hence, its economic development aspirations." Sharp said.
Now Topeka law enforcement's views de-politicizing the Phelps' issue as the best choice for maintaining community harmony and that's the message they convey when other communities call for help. Mayor Wagnon has opted for tough talk in the absence of repressive action." I have run (and won) against Fred Phelps for Mayor." Wagnon said. "We have defeated his children for various office. We have challenged them in court. But the one thing we cannot do is violate their constitutional rights to picket, no matter how hateful the message ... They are holding our community hostage. We hate it. But it's legal."
On the bright side for Topeka and Lawrence, Phelps is spending less of his time sounding his trumpet in Kansas.
Keeping the Hell fires Burning
Phelps has said that his church has about 200 member, but that only about 60 members regularly attend. Converting people is not Phelps' strong point, and he has managed to alienate even far right groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition, whose chairman, Rev. Louis Sheldon, showed up in Laramie and denounced Phelps' message.
"This man does not represent the heart of the gospel or even the fringes of the gospel when he says that a certain group of people cannot be saved," he said.
On his web site, Phelps says that saving souls was never the end for which he preaches: "Remember, Noah preached for 120 years and convinced nobody, and by that righteous preaching, he condemned the world."
If condemnation is to be Phelias' legacy, who will be his successor?
"Talk to Ben." he tells me during the Laramie demonstration. "You know Ben. He teaches computer science over there at your school, my oldest grandson. You can ask him some questions like that."
Ben Phelps, Topeka graduate student, recently made the cover of a national newspaper insert, USA Weekend, for his work maintaining the Phelps' web site.
Although he plays a significant role in propagating WBC's message of hate, he said that he hadn't ever thought about taking a leadership role in the church.
"You've got to have fire behind you. It's something that God gives you. I could probably get up there and say the right words, but it wouldn't have the same impact. You have to be called, and so far, I've haven't felt that." he said.
At 70 years old, Phelps still feels the fire. His calling to bring God's wrath down on homosexuals has not abated in 51 years. But executing God's wrath is not man's job, and Phelps said that he didn't believe Matthew Shepard deserved to die.
"I'm sorry they killed him," he said.
But there is no sympathy in that sorrow —he's counting the days Shepard has spent in hell. It's that, according to the rules of Phelps' world, the "thou shalt not" cover both homosexuality and killing.
In the case of Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney, he said that it was an eye for an eye: "I told the Governor of Wyoming that if his killers get the death penalty, I'll be there to pull the switch."
- Designed by Jason Pearce
- Edited by Clint Hooker
Abigail Phelps yells at passers-by who respond in anger to the Phelps groups' demonstration against homosexuality in front of Allen Fieldhouse earlier this month.
Listed here are the cities across the United States where Fred Phelps and his group have set up protests.
Ames, Iowa (May, 1998)
Atlanta, Ga. (June, 2000)
Birmingham, Ala. (March, 1998)
Casper, Wyo. (Oct., 1998)
Chicago, Ill. (Nov, 1998)
Columbia, Mo. (Nov, 1998)
Dallas, Texas (Aug, 1998)
Denver, Colo. (June, 1994)
Duluth, Minn. (July, 1998)
Greenville, S.C. (Nov, 1998)
Hot Springs, Ark. (Jan, 1994)
Laramie, Wyo. (April, 1999)
Lynchburg, Va. (Nov., 1998)
Omaha, Neb. (Feb., 1996)
Philadelphia, Pa. (Jan., 1999)
Phoenix, Ariz. (April, 1999)
Provincetown, Mass. (Oct., 1997)
Sacramento, Calif. (Jan., 1999)
Salisbury, N.C. (Jan., 1999)
San Francisco, Calif. (several times)
Tulsa, Okla. (Summer, 1998)
Waco, Texas (May, 1998)
Washington, D.C. (Dec., 1998)
Stock up.
928 Mass. •Lawrence, KS
OPEN HOUSE
is having an open house and invites you to come visit our property, ask questions and see why meadowbrook has been voted the Best Place to Live.
Meadowbrook apartments
When: All week May 3rd-8th.
Hours: 9-5 Monday-Friday
10-4 Saturday
All display models open. Please come!
FALL LEASES BEING SIGNED NOW.
At Arizona Trading Co. we buy, sell,and trade quality men's and women's clothing every day. We give you 40% of our selling price in cash or 60% in store credit. Our inventory is constantly changing
so stop by one of our three stores and see what we have for you.
Columbia M0.18 so, 9th St., 573-488-0420
Lawrence KS. 734 Massachusetts, 785-748-2377
Kansas City M0. 209 Westport Rd., 818-980-0200