The Westboro Baptist Church, that affectionately dub themselves the ‘God Hates Fags Church’ has announced that the cause of the shootings in a Connecticut primary school was homosexuality.

The church that has picketed the funerals of US servicemen and women killed overseas has announced that it will picket the funerals of the children killed at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut. The church blames the advances in LGBT rights for everything bad that happens to Americans- saying that disasters and deaths are punishments from God for gay equality.

Twenty children and six adults were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Friday. Most of the children that were killed were aged between six and seven.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, the attorney daughter of the church’s founder Fred Phelps Tweeted: “Westboro will picket Sandy Hook Elementary School to sing praise to God for the glory of his work in executing his judgment.”

Another church member Tweeted” “God Almighty smacked USA with #Sandy & she’s brazen in her sin still; THEN He gives you a right hook – make that #SandyHook! #RepentingYet??”

The church’s founder Fred Phelps Tweeted “That’s the message that this evil nation and world need: that God Almighty is on the march & nothing is gonna stop Him.”

His son Fred Phelps junior Tweeted: “Beautiful work of an angry God who told Wisconsin to keep their filthy hands off his people (WBC)!”

Gay couples have been able to marry in the state of Connecticut since 2008. In September 2012, the state joined New York and Vermont in launching legal challenges to the federal ban on same-sex marriage and lack of country wide recognition of gay relationships.

Last year, the Supreme Court, with a majority of eight to one, ruled that the church should be allowed to picket funerals by relying on their First Amendment rights to free speech.

In 2009, the British Government placed a ban on members of the church entering the UK due to their attitude to homosexuality.