Activist Harnesses Phelps’s Hate for Pro-equality Cause
"Fred Phelps and his clan from the Westboro "God Hates Fags" Baptist Church, centered in Topeka, Kansas, plan to protest a production of the Laramie Project at the Boston Center for the Arts on Dec. 12. But this time when they hold up signs stating "Fags Burn in Hell" and "Thank God for AIDS," they will also be raising money for Driving Equality, an 85-day, 15,000-mile road trip Chris Mason plans to take in summer 2009 through the lower 48 states to advance LGBT equality.
Mason has organized a "Phelps-a-thon," in which people can pledge money for every minute that Phelps and his followers protest outside the BCA. Mason plans to hold a sign in front of the protesters tallying how much money is being raised with each minute of their protest.” (Read more)
Phelps Congregation Plan to Picket BCA’s Laramie Project
"The Boston Center for the Arts is set to stage a production of The Laramie Project, with a special guest appearance by the congregation of Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church, all the way from Westboro, Kansas.
Far from decrying the planned visit by the Phelps crew, however, the BCA is ready to receive the Reverend and his words of hate with a constructive response: the GLBT education initiative Driving Equality is now taking pledges for any amount donors care to put up.
For every minute that the Phelps congregation pickets the BCA with their notorious signs (slogans such as "God Hates Fags" are common to Westboro picketing actions), donors are encouraged to pledge a quarter, a dollar, or whatever amount they can spare.” (Read more)
Protests and counterprotests raise money for gay rights
"Seventy-five gay rights advocates raised more than $4,500 in a faceoff with Fred Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church outside the Boston Center for the Arts’ Black Box Theatre last Friday.
Phelps’ fire-and-brimstoners from Topeka, Kan., were picketing Bad Habit Productions’ staging of The Laramie Project, which is based on the real-life 1998 homophobia-fueled murder of gay student Matthew Shepard. Phelps and his minions picketed Shepard's funeral, waving “Matt is in Hell” signs at his grieving family.” (Read more)
Anti-gay group pickets Boston production of Laramie Project
"Pastor Fred Phelps and members of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church came to Boston on Friday, where they picketed the Boston Center for the Arts current production of the Laramie Project, a play depicting reactions to the 1998 murder of openly-gay Wyoming college student Matthew Shepard.
Meanwhile, Pro-GLBT equality group Driving Equality held a counter-protest, dubbed a "Phelps-a-thon," which sought donations for every minute the Phelps protest continued. The group raised over $4600 for their efforts to organize a 100-day tour of the lower 48 states to raise awareness of GLBT-equality issues.” (Read more)
On the road to sexual equality
"When Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps, who also founded an antigay website, traveled to Boston in December to picket the Boston Center for the Arts production of "The Laramie Project," Mason organized a "Phelps-a-thon," during which donors pledged a certain amount of money per minute of his protest in the South End.” (Read more)
