Anti-Gay Group Plans Picket of Funeral

A fundamentalist group known for its virulent anti-gay stance is planning to picket the upcoming funeral of actor Heath Ledger, who played a gay cowboy in the 2005 film "Brokeback Mountain."

Members of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church said they would protest the funeral at the Frank F. Campbell Funeral Home in Manhattan. A date has not yet been set.

In a message posted on the group's Web log, members promised to bring signs reading "Brokeback in Hell." The message said Ledger was in hell because of his role in a film that taught the world "it's OK to be gay."

Ledger, 28, was found dead in a SoHo loft on Tuesday by his housekeeper and massage therapist. Police said there were several bottles of prescription medication in the apartment. An autopsy was inconclusive, and further toxicology and tissue tests are being performed.

In response to the church's message, the Anti-Defamation League issued a statement condemning the group's agenda.

"Heath Ledger's funeral should be no place for haters," ADL's national director, Abraham Foxman, said in the statement. "It is outrageous that the Westboro Baptist Church would attempt to turn the untimely and sad death of a Hollywood celebrity into a homophobic spectacle."

The ADL, which monitors anti-Semitism as well as the activities of hate groups, said the church gained notoriety when followers picketed the funeral of Matthew Shepard with signs reading "No Fags in Heaven."

Since 2005, church members have picketed funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to demonstrate their opposition to America's tolerance of homosexuality.