CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Greene County, Tenn., is one of the latest targets of a Kansas church that wants to establish monuments condemning murdered gay college student Matthew Shepard. County officials vow to fight the attempt by Fred Phelps, pastor of the Topeka, Kan., church, to put a six-foot granite monument in the Greeneville courthouse. Phelps said that if county officials do not comply, his group will picket the courthouse, high schools, and churches. "If they want to come down here and picket, come on," Greene County mayor Roger Jones said. Phelps wants the monuments displayed by local governments across the country, said the church's attorney, Shirley Phelps-Roper. She claims a Denver court ruling in 2002 requires any government that displays the Ten Commandments on public property to also display monuments of other religious groups. In addition to displaying the Ten Commandments, Greene County government leaders voted recently to recognize a resolution recognizing "God as the foundation of our national heritage." Jones sent copies of the resolution to Tennessee's other 94 county leaders for consideration. Several county commissions are considering it, while some, such as Monroe and Anderson counties, have adopted it. Phelps-Roper said her group learned of Greene County when it heard about the resolution. Jones said hundreds of people across the country have contacted him and praised the move. "I don't regret it by any means," he said. Phelps was unsuccessful in October in trying to establish the monument condemning Matthew Shepard in Shepard's hometown of Casper, Wyo. The church group also has sent letters to two city governments in Idaho and one in Wyoming requesting the establishment of the monuments. None has accepted, Phelps-Roper said. "Every human being needs to see this monument more than they need oxygen to breathe," she said. "Their callous disregard for the commandments of the Lord has allowed sodomites to take over the land. The monument is the mechanism that will cause them to see their abomination."
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Meet all 37 of the queer women in this season's WNBA
April 17 2024 11:24 AM
Here are the 15 gayest travel destinations in the world: report
March 26 2024 9:23 AM
21+ steamy photos of Scotland’s finest gay men in Elska Glasgow
February 01 2024 10:07 PM
More Than 50 of Our Favorite LGBTQ+ Moms
May 12 2024 11:44 AM
Conjoined twins Lori Schappell and trans man George Schappell dead at 62
April 27 2024 6:13 PM
Latest Stories
Pete Buttigieg roasts JD Vance and his gay tech bro billionaire
July 22 2024 1:42 PM
The AIDs pandemic can be ended by 2030, but governments must act: report
July 22 2024 1:01 PM
Conservatives' first attack on Kamala Harris: Pronouns and accessibility?
July 22 2024 12:45 PM
Advancing equality during Disability Pride Month
July 22 2024 11:30 AM
Pete Buttigieg endorses Kamala Harris for president
July 21 2024 7:58 PM
How a Kamala Harris candidacy could supercharge Democrats’ message on abortion
July 21 2024 3:41 PM