# Has godhatesfags.com been shut down? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 3, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068 "2011-04-03T20:14:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/1 "2011-04-03T20:14:39Z")
I’m watching the latest Louis Theroux outing to the Phelpses, and wanted to have a look at their odious sites. I can’t get anything from [www.godhatesfags.com](http://www.godhatesfags.com) nor [www.jewskilledjesus.com](http://www.jewskilledjesus.com) It could be my ISP censoring it, but [http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com](http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com) says they’re down there too. Have they been closed down? DDoSed? Does anyone know the story? ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/2 "2011-04-03T20:20:01Z")
I [found this bit](http://www.allvoices.com/contributed-news/8665097-british-anarchists-put-american-cousins-to-shame): > [@](#): > > The closest thing we Yanks have to activist anarchists are so-called hacktivists, such as The Jester, who most recently waged a month-long [Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attack](http://www.allvoices.com/s/event-8665097/aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuaW5mb3NlY2lzbGFuZC5jb20vYmxvZ3ZpZXcvMTI2ODMtSGFja3RpdmlzdC1NYWludGFpbnMtQXR0YWNrLW9uLVdlc3Rib3JvLUJhcHRpc3QtQ2h1cmNoLmh0bWwlMjA=) against the controversial Westboro Baptist Church, shutting down their principal web site [www.GodHatesFags.com](http://www.GodHatesFags.com), all 19 of WBC’s secondary domains, and a third-party hosted blog. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/3 "2011-04-03T20:25:41Z")
Wow. Not sure how I feel about that. Like, I’m really glad that these fuckers can’t spread their shit, but simultaneously am pissed off that they’re being censored. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/4 "2011-04-03T20:29:28Z")
I’m an ass, I can’t be upset that the hackers are doing a little good for a change. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/5 "2011-04-03T20:42:35Z")
I’m an ass too, because my disappointment is primarily based on me being prevented from PALATR; the censorship thing is secondary to that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/6 "2011-04-03T21:10:16Z")
I thought that the consensus was that the Phelps shut the pages down themselves, either because they didn’t want to keep paying for hosting or to play the victim card, and were just blaming hackers. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/7 "2011-04-03T21:26:54Z")
I’d read that they blamed Anon, who said “no way,” and so people were saying maybe they did it to themselves for attention. This is the first I’ve seen anything pointing at anyone else, though it’s not like I really follow this stuff closely. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/8 "2011-04-03T21:50:41Z")
Even such sadly mislead should be free to post their message of hate. There is nothing in the Bible to suggest God hates fags or any other sinners. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/9 "2011-04-03T22:20:02Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > There is nothing in the Bible to suggest God hates fags or any other sinners. ‘Fags’ = ‘sinners’ then? :dubious: ETA: this is GQ. I’ll shut up now. ---
**Author:** ![Yorikke](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yorikke/32/4335_2.png) [@Yorikke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yorikke)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2011, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/10 "2011-04-03T23:39:37Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > ‘Fags’ = ‘sinners’ then? :dubious: > > ETA: this is GQ. I’ll shut up now. Well, yes. I may be a gay-loving atheist, but aren’t gay people sinners in the context of the bible? Same as adulturers, etc? Joe ---
**Author:** ![MichaelEmouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/michaelemouse/32/101_2.png) [@MichaelEmouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MichaelEmouse)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/11 "2011-04-04T00:05:29Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Even such sadly mislead should be free to post their message of hate. > > There is nothing in the Bible to suggest God hates fags or any other sinners. Leviticus 20:13 : “'If a man lies with a man as one lies with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They must be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads.” Maybe it isn’t hate but it’s pretty tough love. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/12 "2011-04-04T00:20:40Z")
This may be more for another forum but I am becoming more convinced that Phelps & Co are just successful real life trolls with a motive that isn’t as it seems although $$$$$$$ are certainly a part of it. He was a successful Civil Rights attorney in the 1960’s and the whole clan is made up of lawyers. They aren’t dumb by any stretch. They recently won their Supreme Court Case. They are always extremely careful to stay just inside the law so that no one can touch them either physically or legally. If someone does, they sue and win. To make this more GQ, is there any evidence other than the circumstantial that they are just playing an elaborate game for some other motive rather than just really hating gay people? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/13 "2011-04-04T00:44:49Z")
> [@wheresgeorge04](#): > > Well, yes. I may be a gay-loving atheist, but aren’t gay people sinners in the context of the bible? Same as adulturers, etc? To the best of my understanding and from my Calvinist upbringing - in the context of the Bible, **everyone** is a sinner. Even those who believe in and accept God. Christians just believe that God forgives your sins if you repent of them - you continue to be a sinner because you’re imperfect, but you struggle on, repent, and try to live a better life. By that Leviticus passage, God thinks lesbians are awesome. Anyway, there are [different interpretations](http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibh3.htm) of that passage, and considering that the Old Testament God also called for death on anyone gathering sticks on the Sabbath, well, I think we can consider this to be a tad over the top. IIRC, Jesus doesn’t condemn homosexuality, and the guy in the New Testament who’s really obsessed with any kind of sexual behavior (“better to marry than to burn (with lust)”) is Paul. Then again, he condemns just about anything that isn’t directly involved with Getting Ready for Jesus Returning Real Soon Now. **Shagnasty** : I think it’s a little of column A and a little of column B. I listened to an interview with Nathan Phelps, the son who escaped at age 18, who said that his dad was obsessed with his own interpretations of the Bible and God’s wishes, and also that his dad went into civil rights law to make gobs of money in a new market - he was actually quite bigoted but wanted to cash in. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/14 "2011-04-04T00:53:14Z")
Just how _does_ a man lie with a man as with a woman, anyway? It seems to me that the typical form of “laying with” between a man and a woman is rather anatomically impossible for two men, is it not? ---
**Author:** ![R.P.McMurphy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@R.P.McMurphy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/R.P.McMurphy)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/15 "2011-04-04T05:52:49Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > This may be more for another forum but I am becoming more convinced that Phelps & Co are just successful real life trolls with a motive that isn’t as it seems although $$$$$$$ are certainly a part of it. He was a successful Civil Rights attorney in the 1960’s and the whole clan is made up of lawyers. They aren’t dumb by any stretch. They recently won their Supreme Court Case. They are always extremely careful to stay just inside the law so that no one can touch them either physically or legally. If someone does, they sue and win. > > To make this more GQ, is there any evidence other than the circumstantial that they are just playing an elaborate game for some other motive rather than just really hating gay people? Makes you wonder if their new gig is to become media advisers to Donald Trump. ---
**Author:** ![Ca3799](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9f8e36/32.png) [@Ca3799](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ca3799)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 10:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/16 "2011-04-04T10:54:19Z")
Here is the youtube video where, supposedly, Anonymous shut down the WBC websites: [![]( " - YouTube") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIfKLp-VIQ0) I don’t think Anonymous did it because I thought they usually make the internal emails of the organization available, and I never saw anything about WBC’s internal emails being released. I could be wrong about that, though. I’m hoping the WBC just ran out of money. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/17 "2011-04-04T11:48:29Z")
> [@Ca3799](#): > > I don’t think Anonymous did it because I thought they usually make the internal emails of the organization available, and I never saw anything about WBC’s internal emails being released. I could be wrong about that, though. This is the second time you’ve posted this in the last month or so, and as I said the last time, I think you misunderstand. Anonymous just do whatever damage to their chosen target they can. What they can do just depends on what they manage to hack. A DDoS attack does not of itself give access to internal emails. IIUC it doesn’t have anything to do with emails at all. Famously anonymous obtained some of HBGary’s internal emails and published them, but that just happened to be what they managed to hack into. Not every attack on an organisations systems will have this result. I don’t have a clue whether anonymous attacked the WBC but the lack of published internal emails means nothing. ---
**Author:** ![clairobscur](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/839c29/32.png) [@clairobscur](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clairobscur)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 11:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/18 "2011-04-04T11:54:37Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > Wow. > > Not sure how I feel about that. > > Like, I’m really glad that these fuckers can’t spread their shit, but simultaneously am pissed off that they’re being censored. I particularly don’t like it when individuals take upon themselves to decide what should be censored. I’d rather have state-directed censorship or ISP censorship. At least, in those cases, you know where it’s coming from and who is accountable for it. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/19 "2011-04-04T17:17:09Z")
I agree, who are these people to appoint them selves censor? They are tyrants of the worst sort, bullies, cowards, and the enemies of freedom. Oh. I mean Anonymous. Much of that also applies to WBC. ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [April 4, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068/20 "2011-04-04T20:37:30Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > By that Leviticus passage, God thinks lesbians are awesome. That settles it. If I’m ever granted the opportunity to counter-picket WBC my sign will look just like their standard rainbow-coloured God Hates Fags sign (Really? Rainbow coloured? Nobody at Phelps & Co Ltd. saw the irony there?), complete with the exact same Bible verse in small letters at the bottom, only reading “GOD LOVES DYKES” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/has-godhatesfags-com-been-shut-down/577068.md?page=2)