'Most-hated,' anti-gay preacher once fought for civil rights

Contents:

• WTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH FOUNR FRED PHELPS MAY BE GAY, SUGGTS FORMER MEMBER LREN DRA
• FRED PHELPS GAY? FORMER WTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH MEMBER SAYS MAYBE
• FRED PHELPS, ANTI-GAY PREACHER WHO TARGETED MILARY FUNERALS, DI AT 84
• 'MOST-HATED,' ANTI-GAY PREACHER ONCE FOUGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS
• GRANDSON SAYS FRED PHELPS CHANGED MD ABOUT GAYS
• FRED PHELPS: THE MOST EFFECTIVE GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST EVER?

WTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH FOUNR FRED PHELPS MAY BE GAY, SUGGTS FORMER MEMBER LREN DRA

A former member of the Wtboro Baptist Church who recently published a book about leavg the hate-mongerg group has also revealed that founr Fred Phelps's anti-gay iology may have spawned om a gay experience. Dra suggted to the Advote that founr Fred Phelps might have formed the Wtboro Baptist Church and begun his anti-gay csa bee of a gay experience. " I never unrstood why, when [the media asked him], “Why are you so agast the homosexuals?

Did you have a homosexual experience?

Do you have homosexual tennci? If I’m not gay, I’ll jt say I’m not gay.

FRED PHELPS GAY? FORMER WTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH MEMBER SAYS MAYBE

And I’m not gog to eak out, like, “Why are you llg me gay? But somethg happened, and somethg ma him change his md about the ary, and turn have kd of a csa agast sexual immoraly and only did she leave Wtboro, but Dra also has bee an advote for gay rights and anti-bullyg.

Durg a redd "Ask Me Anythg" ssn last month, one mentator asked Dra, "Do you thk Fred Phelps is gay? If not, how do you expla his extreme tert homosexualy? Could the reason for Wtboro Baptist Church founr Fred Phelps' hyperbolic hatred of homosexuals be the rult of an ongog battle wh his own reprsed homosexualy?

FRED PHELPS, ANTI-GAY PREACHER WHO TARGETED MILARY FUNERALS, DI AT 84

Speakg wh the Advote followg the release of her book about leavg the WBC, 27-year-old Lren Dra, dghter of WBC spokman Steve Dra, suggted the bigoted cult lear likely formed his anti-gay worldview the aftermath of a gay experience durg his teen the terview, Dra, thor of Banished: Survivg My Years the Wtboro Baptist Church, discs Phelps youth the Boy Suts and his preparatns to jo the ary, which end abptly due to an transformative "event. "Dra adms she never discsed the life-alterg cint wh Phelps one-on-one, but says she has speculated que a b about , and believ might have had somethg to do wh a gay experience.

)Dra elaborated:I never unrstood why, when [the media asked him], "Why are you so agast the homosexuals? If I'm not gay, I'll jt say I'm not gay. And I'm not gog to eak out, like, "Why are you llg me gay?

Fred Phelps, the vilently antigay preacher who drew wi, srnful attentn for stagg monstratns at ary funerals as a way to proclaim his belief that God is punishg Ameri for s tolerance of homosexualy, died here on Wednday.

'MOST-HATED,' ANTI-GAY PREACHER ONCE FOUGHT FOR CIVIL RIGHTS

Phelps a “first-class nut”; and picketed the funerals of Al Gore’s father and Bill Clton’s Phelps’s picketg began 1991 as an outgrowth of his dissatisfactn wh Topeka’s rponse to his plat that gay men were g a park near his home for “cent nduct. ” His antigay effort at the park was followed by protts of funerals of people who had died of AIDS, and then multiple lol church that he cricized as tolerant of 1998, he explaed his view of a wrathful God an terview wh The Hoton Chronicle. ”Later that year, he attracted global attentn and nmnatn when he picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard, the gay Wyomg llege stunt whose beatg ath led to a natnal bate over hate was his church’s protts of ary funerals, which began about 2005, that provoked the most wispread anger, promptg legislative bodi to tablish buffer zon to lim such protts at funerals.

Phelps, and the Kansas Equaly Coaln, a gay rights group, has urged people not to celebrate his ath. It was late Wednday, not early we handle rrectnsA versn of this article appears prt on, Sectn A, Page 26 of the New York edn wh the headle: Fred Phelps, Preacher on Antigay Csa, Di at 84. Fred Phelps nunciatn of gays ma him famo, but few know that he was a civil rights lawyer who fought racism.

GRANDSON SAYS FRED PHELPS CHANGED MD ABOUT GAYS

STORY HIGHLIGHTS Fred Phelps sparks outrage wh his protts agast gays Kansas pastor's protts are foc of U. (CNN) -- He is the lear of "Ameri's most hated fay, " a gnt, craggy-faced preacher who displays "God Hat Fags" signs at the funerals of Amerin troops, gay men and AIDS victims. Fred Phelps has led his Topeka, Kansas, church on a cross-untry csa agast gays and lbians.

He fought for the rights of blacks, they say, wh the same passn he now rerv for the nmnatn of gays. Ben Stt, print of the NAACP's Topeka branch, says he never heard Phelps talk about homosexuals durg his work as a civil rights attorney.

That's bee there's a distct difference between gay people and black people, she says. Shepard was tortured and murred for beg gay. Phelps' church claims the aths are God's punishment for the natn's tolerance of homosexualy.

FRED PHELPS: THE MOST EFFECTIVE GAY RIGHTS ACTIVIST EVER?

" Douglas says he had no clue then about Phelps' attu toward gays and lbians.

Phelps' crics now spise him for another reason -- his anti-gay activism. " Phelps' anti-gay pickets ntue even though his se is pendg before the U.

The fay plans to vis Atlanta, Geia, startg Wednday for two days of protts, cludg one at a Jewish muny center and a playhoe stagg a productn honor of Shepard, the sla gay llege stunt.