Matches in DBpedia 2014 for { ?s ?p Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American pastor who headed the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. Phelps attained notoriety primarily from his vehemently anti-gay activism and his picketing of funerals of gays and soldiers.Phelps was a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, and a former civil rights activist. He sought public office four times as a member of the Democratic Party. In the election for United States Senator for Kansas in 1992, he received 49,416 votes (30.8%), coming in second after Gloria O'Dell (who subsequently lost to later presidential candidate Bob Dole).Phelps and his followers frequently picketed various events, such as military funerals, gay pride gatherings, high-profile political gatherings, university commencement ceremonies, performances of The Laramie Project, and mainstream Christian gatherings and concerts with which he had no affiliation, arguing it was their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger, leading a group of motorcycle riders to form the Patriot Guard Riders to provide a non-violent, volunteer buffer between the protesters and mourners.In response to Phelps' protests at military funerals, President George W. Bush signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act into law in May 2006, and, in April 2007, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill establishing a 150-foot no-picketing buffer zone around funerals. As of April 2006, 8 other states had enacted similar laws and 10 more were considering it. On August 6, 2012, President Obama signed Pub.L. 112–154, the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 which, among other things, requires a 300-foot and 2-hour buffer zone around military funerals.He was known for the slogans that he and his ministry used against people he deemed 'sinful'; his church is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags", which remains the name of the group's main website. Gay rights supporters denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech. The church is widely considered to be a hate group, and is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.. }
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- Fred_Phelps abstract "Fred Waldron Phelps, Sr. (November 13, 1929 – March 19, 2014) was an American pastor who headed the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC), an independent Baptist church based in Topeka, Kansas. Phelps attained notoriety primarily from his vehemently anti-gay activism and his picketing of funerals of gays and soldiers.Phelps was a disbarred lawyer, founder of the Phelps Chartered law firm, and a former civil rights activist. He sought public office four times as a member of the Democratic Party. In the election for United States Senator for Kansas in 1992, he received 49,416 votes (30.8%), coming in second after Gloria O'Dell (who subsequently lost to later presidential candidate Bob Dole).Phelps and his followers frequently picketed various events, such as military funerals, gay pride gatherings, high-profile political gatherings, university commencement ceremonies, performances of The Laramie Project, and mainstream Christian gatherings and concerts with which he had no affiliation, arguing it was their sacred duty to warn others of God's anger, leading a group of motorcycle riders to form the Patriot Guard Riders to provide a non-violent, volunteer buffer between the protesters and mourners.In response to Phelps' protests at military funerals, President George W. Bush signed the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act into law in May 2006, and, in April 2007, Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius signed into law a bill establishing a 150-foot no-picketing buffer zone around funerals. As of April 2006, 8 other states had enacted similar laws and 10 more were considering it. On August 6, 2012, President Obama signed Pub.L. 112–154, the Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012 which, among other things, requires a 300-foot and 2-hour buffer zone around military funerals.He was known for the slogans that he and his ministry used against people he deemed 'sinful'; his church is built around a core of anti-homosexual theology, with many of their activities stemming from the slogan "God hates fags", which remains the name of the group's main website. Gay rights supporters denounced him as a producer of anti-gay propaganda and violence-inspiring hate speech. The church is widely considered to be a hate group, and is monitored by the Anti-Defamation League and Southern Poverty Law Center.".