Time Magazine covers Gay Rights in Midwest City Council Race

Passing the Phelps question would eliminate hate crimes legislation already on the books and just barely come short of declaring “hunting season” on gays as regards economic parity and fair housing practices. Just what Fred Phelps and his granddaughter City Council candidate Jael Phelps appear to be salivating for. Mr. Phelps and cult have sent news releases thanking God for the Tsunami and the death of 3,000 Americans, 5,000 Swedes and attacking the Lutheran Church. This is equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan lauding the death of African American children by lynching and burnings, or the Holocaust suffered by the Jewish people, even Apartheid. This cult and City Council Candidate Jael Phelps actually picketed a murdered human being’s funeral with their very graphic signage simply because he was gay.

Time Magazine response

It is unfortunate that Time Magazine’s Eric Roston was assigned to come to the “…small, gossipy city” of Topeka to cover our City Council’s District 9 race, only because of another gay rights issue. This microcosm named Topeka, capital of Kansas, is a concentrated representation of the feelings of an entire nation, both for and against any gay rights issues and it is not accurate to intimate that this city “…could perhaps lay claim to being the homophobia capital of the U.S…”, that simply gives fred phelps too much power.

The City that spawned such civil rights cases as Brown v. Board of Education has grown to be a pretty fair minded, no nonsense type of town. I am from the age group that experienced bussing and protest against school integration. Though I was a young child, the ordeal was a very painful reality. The sexual orientation discrimination issue on the March 1st ballot here in Topeka is similar in stature to other civil rights issues which have pained America from its birth until present day. The phelps question would eliminate hate crimes legislation already on the books and just barely come short of declaring “hunting season” on gays as regards economic parity and fair housing practices. Just what Fred Phelps and his granddaughter City Council candidate Jael Phelps appear to be salivating for. Mr. Phelps and cult have sent news releases thanking God for the Tsunami and the death of 3,000 Americans, 5,000 Swedes and attacking the Lutheran Church. This is equivalent to the Ku Klux Klan lauding the death of African American children by lynching and burnings, or the Holocaust suffered by the Jewish people, even Apartheid. This cult and City Council Candidate Jael Phelps actually picketed a murdered human being’s funeral with their very graphic signage.

Topeka is a city which still has remnants of the old age where a person is only as good as their word; trust comes before distrust; and each side listens to the arguments of the other, even if they never come to an agreement. I would hope the national media will come back and find out how Topeka and surrounding area could be one of the last vestiges of America where you can leave your car running while you go into the store; sleep with your window open and citizens are not afraid to say hello when passing each other on the street or wave when driving by in their automobiles! Heck, they even take checks in restaurants here!

Jerry Doby
Doby Public Relations
Topeka, KS 66615