I've done a lot of research on them over the past several years because I run a website against them. I've even had phone discussions with them and I'm friends with one of the sons who left the church. Being that most of the senior members of the church are lawyers, they've found loopholes. They did run into trouble about a year ago when the courts found out they didn't pay taxes on their truck. The church tried to argue that because they use it for "religious purposes", they're exempt. However, the courts ruled that over 50% of the signs they transport in the vehicle are politically motivated, so they ended up having to pay taxes on it. Rumor has it they also claimed their backyard swimming pool as a church expense because they use it for baptisms. Yeah, bizarre. By the way, the group that's usually at military funerals to create a separating baracade is the Patriot Guard Riders. They don't go to every funeral that the Phelps family/WBC protests. They only go to events when they're invited by the family of the deceased. I'm a member, and stood with some others at a funeral in Pennsylvania two years ago. WBC was supposed to be there, but they never show up. Most of the time it's because their permits don't get approved. They have to file for a permit for protest (to reserve police protection, that sort-of thing) before they can go and if their permit isn't approved, they just don't show up. So really, it's at the discretion of most cities as to whether or not these people can protest their depending on laws and statutes, but they can't just refuse them without reason or else it'll look like religious discrimination.
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Being that most of the senior members of the church are lawyers, they've found loopholes. They did run into trouble about a year ago when the courts found out they didn't pay taxes on their truck. The church tried to argue that because they use it for "religious purposes", they're exempt. However, the courts ruled that over 50% of the signs they transport in the vehicle are politically motivated, so they ended up having to pay taxes on it. Rumor has it they also claimed their backyard swimming pool as a church expense because they use it for baptisms. Yeah, bizarre.
By the way, the group that's usually at military funerals to create a separating baracade is the Patriot Guard Riders. They don't go to every funeral that the Phelps family/WBC protests. They only go to events when they're invited by the family of the deceased. I'm a member, and stood with some others at a funeral in Pennsylvania two years ago. WBC was supposed to be there, but they never show up. Most of the time it's because their permits don't get approved. They have to file for a permit for protest (to reserve police protection, that sort-of thing) before they can go and if their permit isn't approved, they just don't show up. So really, it's at the discretion of most cities as to whether or not these people can protest their depending on laws and statutes, but they can't just refuse them without reason or else it'll look like religious discrimination.