Home Feature ‘God Hates Fags’ a no-show in Hastings; hundreds rally for tolerance

‘God Hates Fags’ a no-show in Hastings; hundreds rally for tolerance

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Photo via Facebook user Anddi 'blackpearl' Schwartz
Hundreds of counter protesters turned out in Hastings on Sunday to drown out Fred Phelps of God Hates Fags fame, but the controversial pastor and his minions never showed. Phelps’ Westboro Baptist Church had threatened to protest a Hastings High School production of the Laramie Project, a play about the murder of Matthew Shepard.

The Hastings Gazette notes that hundreds of LGBT people and allies showed up for a peaceful protest of Phelps, but the church never showed up.

One attendee captured some of the protest on his phone’s video camera.

There were plenty of signs:

The Minnesota Atheists were on hand:

The protesters played “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga:

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.