CASPER, Wyo. -- A controversial anti-gay preacher from Kansas wants to erect a monument in a city park celebrating the death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard five years ago.

The Rev. Fred Phelps has led protests in Casper and Laramie (pictured, left) on the anniversary of Shepard's death since 1998, when Shepard was lured out of a Laramie bar by two men, kidnapped and beaten into a coma.

Shepard, 21, died at a Fort Collins, Colo., hospital five days later. Police have said he was targeted in part because he was gay. His attackers were later convicted of murder and sentenced to life in prison.

In a letter sent to Casper officials Thursday, Phelps said he wanted to erect a stone monument in City Park with a bronze plaque bearing Shepard's face and an inscription reading "Matthew Shepard, Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not lie with mankind as womankind; it is an abomination.' Leviticus 18:22."

Phelps said he wants the monument in Casper because it is Shepard's hometown, where he learned it is "OK to be gay."

"(Shepard) was not a hero," Phelps said. "This is a great monster sin against God. It is not an innocent alternative lifestyle. And all that has come down in that one little evil town called Casper, Wyo. And we can't ignore that."

Phelps has proposed putting the monument in a part of City Park that Casper officials are considering selling to avoid removal of a Ten Commandments monument that has drawn fire from another religious group.

The Wisconsin-based Freedom From Religion Foundation has threatened legal action if the city does not remove the Ten Commandments monument.

Earlier this week, the City Council decided to explore selling the park land rather than removing the monument despite opposition from some councilors, who fear it will draw interest from people like Phelps.

"I think (the Ten Commandments monument) should be there, but I am voting to remove it if it has to be for this very reason, for the prevention of people like Phelps," Councilor Renee Burgess said.

Others said they would not be persuaded by hate to remove the Ten Commandments monument, which has sat in the park since the 1960s.

"I think the hate language will find a very cold reception in this community," Councilor Paul Bertoglio said. "I think this community's backbone is going to come up and say 'We are not going to accept it."'

Phelps said he was exploring alternate sites if the Ten Commandments monument was removed.

"There may be nearby private property that we could buy," he said. "I mean we have to see what turn this takes and how it develops."

Phelps is a disbarred lawyer and the minister of a small church in Topeka, Kan. The congregation is made up mostly of his 13 children, 45 grandchildren, and relatives, according to reports. Eleven of the children have law degrees. Phelps and a handful of supporters also picketed at the funerals of Barry Goldwater, Sonny Bono, and Bill Clinton's mother.