A new way to mix church and state

The Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., everyone’s favorite hateful fundamentalist picketer, has gone and gotten himself sued. It seems that the families of slain American soldiers don’t overly appreciate the presence of Rev. Phelps and his extended family outside of the funerals of their loved ones. These “God-fearing” protesters justify their disruption of church services by noting that “the American Army is a fag army.” They told the parents of soldier Matthew Snyder that “you had a DUTY to prepare that child to serve the LORD his GOD—PERIOD! You did just the opposite—you raised him for the devil!” Now the Snyders have sued, and Phelps has been ordered to pay damages to the tune of $11 million. The dollar may be falling, but that still hurts; unless Phelps wins on appeal, it will likely bankrupt his Westboro Baptist Church.

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