Arrow-right Camera
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Huckleberries Online

2 Westboro Women Quit Hate Church

In this Oct. 21, 2010, SR file photo, a pair of female counter-protesters kiss as they drive along 37th Avenue near Ferris High in Spokane, while a woman from Westboro Baptist Church stands on an American flag. (SR file photo: Dan Pelle)

One of the most prominent members of the Westboro Baptist church has left it after spending her life as part of the fervently anti-gay movement. Megan Phelps-Roper, who looked after social media for the church best known for its slogan "God hates fags", announced her departure in a post on the blogging platform Medium in which she also revealed her younger sister Grace, 19, was also leaving. In the post, called Head Full of Doubt/Road Full of Promise, the 27-year-old explained how she had become disillusioned with the teaching of Westboro, which is widely considered one of the most detested church groups in America for its "God hates fags" campaign. Phelps-Roper writes: "We know that we've done and said things that hurt people. Inflicting pain on others wasn't the goal, but it was one of the outcomes. We wish it weren't so, and regret that hurt/David Batty, The Guardian. More here. (AP file photo).

Question: Is this the beginning of the end of the Westboro (Kansas) Baptist Church?



D.F. Oliveria
D.F. (Dave) Oliveria joined The Spokesman-Review in 1984. He currently is a columnist and compiles the Huckleberries Online blog and writes about North Idaho in his Huckleberries column.

Follow Dave online: