Fred Phelps... I never knew who this man was until one Sunday morning. My husband and I were having our routine Sunday coffee at a local coffee shop. This little cafe is located off of the interstate here and is often visited by out of state travellers. My husband, a quiet person with always an oh so serious attitude was quietly reading his paper as was I. I came upon an article about Phelps and his band of thugs in the paper about how they staged a protest at a soilders funeral. I was outraged. I made mention of the article to my husband and I could tell be his demeanor that it was highly upsetting to him. We sat there discussing the freedom of speech and how it was abused, when a gentleman sitting at the adjacent table chimed in his two cents worth. He was making a first amendment argument that would surely impress the supreme court. My husband doing his best to ignore him, could not. He asked the man to please refrain from coversation with us. That is where it went bad. Now my husband is a pretty good sized man and in pretty good shape and if he had asked me to butt out, I think I would have. The guy kept on and on as if he was speaking to himself. He got on the Phelps issue and was a very vocal supporter of these demonic acts he and his group participate in. My husband got up from the table and announced we were ready to leave. The poor fool talking just could not leave well enogh alone, the next thing I know my Husband had this poor guy around the throat and slammed him to the floor. My husband was in a state I have NEVER saw before. He insisted the guy finish his conversation and excercise that free speech right, was kinda hard though with a 230 lb Marine on top of him with both hands around his throat. Some guy's we know managed to break my husband loose and the antagonist limped away. One day I hope Mr. Phelps could meet my husband or any one of a million out there just like him. I do not condone violence but people like him and his supporters deserve all that they could get heaped upon them. Oh yea, We have never saw that guy in the coffee shop again.