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Shirley Phelps-Roper

Shirley Lynn Phelps-Roper (née Phelps; born October 31, 1957) is an American lawyer and political activist. She was the lead spokesperson of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, an organization that protests against homosexuality conducted under the slogan "God Hates Fags" until a power struggle within the organization reduced her status.[1]

Shirley Phelps-Roper
Phelps-Roper in 2007
Born
Shirley Lynn Phelps

(1957-10-31) October 31, 1957 (age 67)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Alma materWashburn University (BA, JD)
SpouseBrent Roper
Children11, including Megan
Parent(s)Fred Phelps
Margie Marie Simms
RelativesNathan Phelps (brother)

Early life and education

Shirley Phelps was born October 31, 1957, in Topeka, Kansas.[2] She is the daughter of Margie Marie (Simms) and pastor Fred Phelps, minister of the Westboro Baptist Church, an independent church characterized as a hate group by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center.[3][4][5] She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in criminal justice in 1979 and a Juris Doctor degree in 1981 from Washburn University in Topeka.[2][6]

Career

Phelps-Roper practices law for Phelps-Chartered Co., the Phelps family's law firm established by her father in 1964.[7] According to her firm's web page, she has been licensed to practice in Kansas and federal courts.[6]

Besides her father Fred, Shirley Phelps-Roper was the most active spokesperson of the Westboro Baptist Church and answered many of the e-mails sent to the church in a column called "Dear Shirley".[8] She and other family members have become known for picketing at funerals of AIDS victims with signs such as "God hates fags" and at funeral processions for American soldiers killed in combat.[9][10]

In 2006, in the aftermath of the West Nickel Mines School shooting, Phelps-Roper was invited to Hannity & Colmes on Fox News. During the interview, Alan Colmes questioned Phelps-Roper as to whether the five Amish girls deserved to die, to which she responded that they did, prompting condemnation by Colmes and co-host Sean Hannity who called her sick and evil.[11] In February 2008, Phelps-Roper traveled to the community of DeKalb, Illinois, to picket memorials for the victims of the Northern Illinois University shooting. Phelps-Roper said that "God [had] sent the shooter" because they "don't love Christ". Her plans, however, to picket other university memorials were blocked.[12]

 
Phelps-Roper protesting in Chicago in 2009

By 2014, Phelps-Roper's duties as spokesperson for the Westboro Church had been reduced after a power struggle within the church, and her authority transferred to an all-male board of elders.[13][14]

Phelps-Roper was arrested on June 5, 2007, on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Police alleged that she allowed her son to trample an American flag while protesting the funeral of a soldier in Bellevue, Nebraska, which is a misdemeanor in the state.[15] Phelps-Roper announced her intent to challenge the constitutionality of the Nebraska statute. The charges against her were dropped when she agreed to dismiss pending lawsuits filed against Sarpy County in state and federal court.[16][17][18]

Phelps-Roper was named a defendant in the Supreme Court case Snyder v. Phelps. She has been placed on the list of individuals banned from entering the United Kingdom for "fostering extremism or hatred".[9]

Personal life

 
Shirley Phelps-Roper at a casual moment between interviews

Phelps-Roper is married to Brent D. Roper and they have 11 children. Five of her children, notably Megan Phelps-Roper, have left the church.[19][20][21]

In a 2007 Channel 4 documentary featuring Welsh personality Keith Allen, Phelps-Roper said on camera that her oldest son Samuel was born out of wedlock. When asked if she would go to hell for her actions, Phelps-Roper explained that "I know better" and had "put away" such behavior.[22][23]

References

  1. ^ Fry, Steve (March 17, 2014). "Elders excommunicate Phelps after power struggle, call for kindness within church". Topeka Capital-Journal. Mark E. Nusbaum. Retrieved March 23, 2014. Drain as church spokesman marked a shift from Shirley Phelps-Roper, the former longtime church spokeswoman, who was clearly a leader and an influence in the church.
  2. ^ a b Kendall, Justin (November 2, 2006). "The New Fred". The Pitch. Archived from the original on March 16, 2014.
  3. ^ Anti-Defamation League (2006). "Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church". Archived from the original on March 8, 2007. Retrieved February 23, 2007.
  4. ^ Southern Poverty Law Center " The Year in Hate:2005". Accessed October 5, 2006.
  5. ^ Southern Poverty Law Center. Active U.S. Hate Groups in 2005. Archived May 19, 2006, at the Wayback Machine Accessed October 5, 2006.
  6. ^ a b "Attorney Profiles". Phelps Chartered. Archived from the original on June 1, 2023.
  7. ^ "Firm History," Archived January 21, 2004, at archive.today phelpschartered.com/ Retrieved September 9, 2010.
  8. ^ Dear Shirley. godhatesfags.com. Archived December 23, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ a b ""UK 'least wanted' list published"". BBC News. May 5, 2009. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  10. ^ ""The Most Hated Family in America" bbc.co.uk March 30, 2007". BBC News. March 30, 2007. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  11. ^ "Radical Westboro Baptist Church Claims Amish Community Was Punished by an Angry God". Fox News. No. Colmes & Hannity | Interview. October 3, 2006. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  12. ^ Silverberg, Melissa (February 19, 2008). "Westboro Baptist Church plans NIU funeral protests". The Daily Illini.
  13. ^ Fry, Steve (March 17, 2014). "Elders excommunicate Phelps after power struggle, call for kindness within church". The Topeka Capital-Journal.
  14. ^ Greenberg, Brad A. (March 18, 2014). "Did Westboro Baptist excommunicate Fred Phelps for being too kind?". The Jewish Journal.
  15. ^ ""Phelps-Roper Arrested in Nebraska";". Wibw.com. Archived from the original on July 27, 2018. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  16. ^ "Funeral protester faces charges after child stomps on flag". June 7, 2007.
  17. ^ ""Charges against Phelps-Roper in Nebraska protest dropped" The Associated Press, August 23, 2010". Ktka.com. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  18. ^ ""Charges To Be Dismissed Against Phelps-Roper Funeral Protester Will Drop Lawsuits In Exchange For Dismissal" August 23, 2010". Ketv.com. August 23, 2010. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved August 30, 2011.
  19. ^ Chen, Adrian (November 16, 2015). "Unfollow: How a prized daughter of the Westboro Baptist Church came to question its beliefs". The New Yorker. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  20. ^ "Westboro Church, famous for hate, loses two key members". USA Today. February 8, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  21. ^ "STEVE DRAIN KICKED OUT OF THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH". YouTube. March 13, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2022.
  22. ^ Allen, Keith (Director) (2007). Keith Allen Will Burn In Hell (Television documentary). UK: Channel 4 Television Corporation.
  23. ^ Keith Allen will Burn in Hell At 33:29: Allen: "Is he (name) the illegitimate son?" Phelps-Roper: "He's my son." Allen: "Is he the illegitimate son?" Phelps-Roper: "Yes." Allen: "Are you going to hell?" Phelps-Roper: "If the lord Jesus Christ did not die on that cross for me, for my sins, I am going to hell." Allen: "Are you going to hell because you had a child out of wedlock?" Phelps-Roper: "That would not be the reason."
 
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