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WASHINGTON – The Westboro Baptist Church, an extremist organization known for its anti-gay activism, announced that it will picket the funerals of the three people killed in Sunday afternoon’s shooting attacks at two Kansas City Jewish sites. The church, which has famously picketed funerals of US military personnel and has protested against the American Jewish community, sent out a tweet shortly after the shooting saying, “Thank God for shootings at Overland Park KS jewish centers! Westboro to picket funerals. God did not passover.”

ABC News Vice President Jeffrey Schneider has apologized for a story on his network that connected a CEO who supports traditional marriage to the Westboro Baptist Church and their offensive "God hates fags" signs. Mr. Schneider contacted the Media Research Center on Thursday after our social media department requested members call and complain about the comparison.

Fred Phelps -- the founding pastor of a Kansas church known for its virulently anti-gay protests at public events, including military funerals -- has died, the church said Thursday. The 84-year-old died of natural causes at 11:15 p.m. Wednesday, according to church spokesman Steve Drain.

If there is one man who can be credited for the success of the gay rights movement, it’s Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps.Phelps did more than anyone to make opposition to homosexuality seem as toxic as possible by picketing the funerals of soldiers with anti-gay slogans. There probably wasn’t a more inspired way to make anti-gay sentiments seem as unacceptable as possible.If the Phelps clan had deliberately set out to implement gay marriage in America, they could not have chosen a better method and who is to say that they didn’t.The Phelps, with their background in civil rights...

With reports that Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps is near death, some gay-rights advocates are conflicted. In the end, they say, his actions actually helped their cause. For most of the past 20 years, gay Americans dreaded Fred Phelps Sr. and the “God hates fags” pickets by members of his Westboro Baptist Church, a congregation that believes that disciples who do not attack those they see as sinful will themselves be punished by God. But amid reports that Mr. Phelps is now seriously ill at a Topeka, Kan., hospice facility, some religion experts and gay activists are suggesting that...

Fred Phelps - the founder of Westboro Baptist Church - is on his death bed, apparently. You remember Fred. He's the guy who hates Jews, black people, gay people, soldiers, America....need I go on? He just hates a LOT of people. You know.

After finding out Rev. Fred Phelps Sr. was on the verge of death many quipped the Westboro Baptist Church, the very organization he founded, would picket his funeral like they have so many others in the past. It might sound like a joke but apparently it’s the real deal: the WBC will hold a demonstration at the funeral of their former pastor.Rev. Fred Phelps Sr., the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, was reportedly excommunicated from the group.Phelps Sr., 84, began to make headlines over the weekend after his estranged son Nathan posted a note to Facebook where he said...

EyeOn College Basketball Missouri students block Westboro Baptist protest of Michael Sam By Chip Patterson | College Writer February 15, 2014 4:46 pm ET The Missouri community has shown overwhelming support for Michael Sam since the Tigers' football star announced that he was gay earlier this month. On Saturday a group of students united to drown out the protest efforts of the Westboro Baptist Church. The group was in town for the Tigers' home basketball game against Tennessee, protesting Missouri's support of Sam outside Mizzou Arena. Students blocked the Westboro Baptist protesters from view with a human wall, turned their...

Westboro Baptist Church co-leader Margie Phelps praised Obama today and bashed the Tea Party. @GaltsGultch Obama Is the Only reason our country is a flote. thank God for Obama. Ta party freaks are killing our country. #tcot— Margie Phelps (@MargieJPhelps) October 23, 2013

FULL TITLE: Touching moment 2,000 residents of a town lined the funeral procession of a local soldier with flags to block out Westboro Baptist protest To counter a planned Westboro Baptist protest at the funeral of a local soldier, 2,000 town residents lined the streets. Oregon locals congregated en masse at Army Ranger Cody James Patterson’s memorial service after the Kansas-based church, notorious for offensively picketing the funerals of servicemen killed in action, decided to target his service. Oregon State University students Matt Enloe and Lexie Lynn Merrill organized a Facebook event, encouraging residents to peacefully counter the church’s protest....

The Westboro Baptist Church regularly pickets at the funerals of children, returning vets, and even tried to protest the people who lost their lives in the Boston Bombings. Their disgusting actions, however, are not always without irony. In an ad released on July 14th, the group claimed that American soldiers are being killed by God because gay marriage has been allowed to continued in the United States. They also wondered if all Americans were "illerate." Yes, not "illiterate," but "illerate:" Well then... I think this explains a lot about them.

...ceremony officiated by lesbian Baptist minister directly across the street A lesbian couple gave the bigots at the Gay-hating Westboro Baptist Church a taste of their own medicine by tying the knot in an outdoor ceremony across the street from the church. The Westboro members, who are infamous for staging anti-Gay protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers, were forced to watch as Kimberly Kidwell and Katie Short said “I do” just 50 feet from their front doors in Topeka, Kan. Same-sex marriage is not legal in Kansas, but the couple proceeded with the ceremony with the help of an...

Westboro Baptist Church said that the bombings during the Boston Marathon were sent by God as punishment for same-sex marriage and that members would definitely show up at funerals to protest. The group posted the message on its Twitter site, with a headline that read, “Thank God for the Boston marathon bombs.” The release continued: “WBC to picket the funeral of those killed by the bombing in Boston. … The federal government is classifying the bombs as a terrorist attack, but say it’s unclear if it’s of a domestic or foreign nature. Here’s a hint — God sent the bombs!...

The Westboro Baptist Church had said that they planned to picket and protest at the funeral services of the 27 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre that occurred last Friday but so far their threats have not happened. Now they are saying via their website, godhatesfags.com, that they will preach to everyone at the fallen marine, Sgt. Michael Guillory of Pearl River, Louisiana's funeral...

Bikers seem to have thwarted attempts by the Westboro Baptist Church to protest the funeral of Newtown, Conn., shooting victim Principal Dawn Hochsprung. The vocal right-wing Christian group, whose website is godhatesfags.com, produced a video called "God Sent the Shooter," and has blamed the massacre on gay marriage. It put Hochsprung's funeral on its online "picket schedule." But there was no sign of the church group, as local newspaper the Newtown Patch live-blogged throughout the day with updates, and reported that people had arrived from as far away as Massachusetts to protect the mourners -- just in case. Bikers from...

Less than 48 hours after the Connecticut school shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT, which took place on Dec. 14, the Westboro Baptist Church is already making plans to picket. The Westboro Baptist Church is known for picketing and protesting at funerals across the country.(snip) “Westboro 'God hates Fags' Baptist Church is planning to pciket at Sandy Hook, to praise 'God's judgment,'” Margie Phelps tweeted as well on Dec. 15.

Many shades of red are normally associated with anger, however, on Thursday, a "wall of maroon" was a show of love and respect in Texas. Lt. Col. Roy Tisdale, a Texas A&M University graduate in 1993, was killed during a training exercise at Fort Bragg on June 28. During a safety briefing in North Carolina, Lt. Col. Tisdale was shot and killed by a fellow soldier who committed suicide. Family members and friends were shocked at the loss, claiming that with all of the deployments Tisdale had, they never thought anything would happen to him at home. The Westboro Baptist...

TACOMA, Wash. - A rabidly anti-gay church known for its loud protests is planning to picket Saturday's funeral for the two sons of missing mom Susan Powell, who died in a raging house fire Sunday. Margie Phelps of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church sent out a tweet saying the church will attend the boys' memorial service as a protest against the pending legalization of gay marriage in Washington state. The two boys, Charlie and Braden Powell, were killed Sunday in a gasoline-fueled house fire set by their father Josh Powell after they arrived for a supervised visit. Powell himself...

INDIANAPOLIS -- A controversial church and Indiana union members could find themselves sharing the same stage before the Super Bowl. The Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which is known for its radical demonstrations outside soldier funerals, has announced it plans to travel to Indianapolis to picket outside the Super Bowl. Teamsters upset over the divisive right-to-work bill that passed the House on Wednesday said previously they also plan to protest outside the big game to bring national attention to their issue. The Super Bowl Host Committee has set up two so-called free speech zones at South and Illinois streets and on...

Today I want to write about something that has bothered me for the better part of a decade. I’ve carved out no fewer than a dozen drafts of this post, all strangely unalike, all ultimately failing to accomplish the job I’ve set out to do. Truth is, I’ve been trying to write it off and on for more than a year now, and the right words have been seemingly impossible to come by. In the end, and in order to post it, I guess I had to care more about the message than I do about potential backlash. I’m not...