You may remember Fred Phelps, the founder of Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church, whose followers have been attending funerals for U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq, holding up signs saying things like “God hates fags” and “God hates you.” (Why? In Phelps’ mind, God is wreaking havoc on American soldiers in Iraq out of vengeance for “a country that harbors gays.” He’s referring to the United States, in case you were wondering.)

Well, Phelps and company are back in the news. Queerty is reporting the Phelps’ church is planning to picket 28-year-old actor Heath Ledger‘s funeral. According to a statement from Phelps: 

Heath Ledger thought it was great fun defying God Almighty and his plain word; to wit: God Hates Fags! & Fag Enablers! Ergo, God hates the sordid tacky, bucket of slime seasoned with vomit known as ‘Brokeback Mountain’ — and He hates all persons having anything whatsoever to do with it.

 

Heath Ledger is now in Hell, and has begun serving his eternal sentence there — beside which, nothing else about Heath Ledger is relevant or consequential.

There are many things I could say about this. But any of them would require taking Phelps far more seriously than he deserves to be taken. So I’ll let his plan, and his words, speak for themselves.

Laura Nathan-Garner