Fred Phelps, the controversial leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, has died at the age of 84, according to The Associated Press.
Phelps and his church made headlines for picketing the funerals of fallen military service members, believing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were God's punishment for America's acceptance of gays and lesbians.
Al Snyder, father of a fallen Twentynine Palms Marine whose lawsuit against Westboro Baptist made its way to the Supreme Court, told the Military Times earlier this week he doesn't want Phelps' funeral picketed the way his son's was:
“I believe he has the same rights as everybody else should have, that he should be buried in peace.
"Two wrongs don’t make a right.”
“I do not like Westboro Baptist Church; I don’t have anything nice to say about them, but if I had anything bad to say about them at this time... it would put me in the same category as him (Phelps), and I don’t want to be in that category.
“I don’t like hate.”
