Our friend Shelly Goldstein wrote a piece on Fred Phelps that summarizes what a lot of people feel about the man.
A friend of mine who is personally opposed to same-sex wedlock (but accepting of its inevitability) sent me a message recently that said he was happy to see the guy die. My friend wrote, "Every time someone thinks that opponents of Gay Marriage are emotionally disturbed homophobes, we have Fred Phelps to thank for that." Well, him and some others.