By Associated Press Published: March 02, 2011
The Supreme Court ruled today that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount attention-getting, anti-gay protests outside military funerals. The court voted 8-1 in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Justice Samuel Alito dissented.
"What Westboro said, in the whole context of how and where it chose to say it, is entitled to 'special protection' under the First Amendment," Roberts wrote, "and that protection cannot be overcome by a jury finding that the picketing was outrageous."
Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the United States for burial. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have picketed military funerals for several years, decided to protest outside the Westminster, Md., church where Snyder's funeral was to be held.
The Rev. Fred Phelps and other family members who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church have picketed many military funerals in their quest to draw attention to their incendiary view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
They showed up with their usual signs, including "Thank God for dead soldiers," ''You're Going to Hell," ''God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," and one that combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.
The church members drew counter-demonstrators, as well as media coverage and a heavy police presence to maintain order. The result was a spectacle that led to altering the route of the funeral procession.
Several weeks later, Albert Snyder was surfing the Internet for tributes to his son from other soldiers and strangers when he came upon a poem on the church's website that attacked Matthew's parents for the way they brought up their son.
Soon after, Albert Snyder filed a lawsuit accusing the Phelpses of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. He won $11 million at trial, later reduced by a judge to $5 million. The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict and said the Constitution shielded the church members from liability.
Forty-eight states, 42 U.S. senators and veterans groups sided with Snyder, asking the court to shield funerals from the Phelps family's "psychological terrorism."
While distancing themselves from the church's message, media organizations, including The Associated Press, urged the court to side with the Phelps family because of concerns that a victory for Snyder could erode speech rights.
We should be able to protect the legacy of the dead, whose legacy demands protecting. A person's reputation is their "Legacy". No group should be allowed to slander and defame those who are deceased.
ReplyDeleteGod is the final judge of every person. Freedom of Speech is a "Right" but also a privilege which carry with it great responsibility. Many people are not responsible in what they say or publish. People hide behind the First Amendment to do evil while the government let them get away with the evil.
The church should be the first to come against these evil attacks instead of being the lead in them. Support Anti-Defamation Legacy Petition.
http://www.change.org/petitions/protect-and-preserve-the-legacy-of-those-deceased-those-left-behind-can-still-be-hurt#?opt_new=t&opt_fb=t
Our men and women in the military protect us while we lay up on our asses and sleep and the "Church" has the nerve to protest funerals of those men and women because they're gay. Let God be the judge. Our only duty is to teach and preach the word. It is up to each person to accept or reject it; but they should not be defamed after they are dead. They are not here to defend themselves.
I am OUTRAGED that the Supreme Court would stand with such a horrible thing as this. This is not the way the framers intended.
This is another slap in the face, from our higher courts.These ruling are all out of line with today's world. When our forefathers wrote those laws,the world was not the same as it is today. With each and everyday there's a different change. These men and womens are over there putting their lives on the line for peoples to sit in them velvet covered chairs, and make these silly ruling. Now I betcha, if one of their family members came back in a pine box, their funeral wouldn't be protected, it's time to stop being different and get into life's reality, it's time to make a change.
ReplyDeleteSam Cooke sang, A Change Gonna Come!
Michael Jackson sang, Make That Change!
And I Say Time Has Come For That Change!
Right on Vanessa. I like your post. It has a lot of power to it. You are certainly correct when you speak of the velvet covered chairs. It is very easy to make decisions when you are not the one in the line of fire and then we don't have the guts to make sure these men and women are given the honor and respect they truly deserve and have earned.
ReplyDeleteI am outraged and very ashamed, at this point. Sam Cooke and Michael certainly did give the prophecy, in their songs, about the CHANGE. They revealed the CHANGE and now it is time for us to inititate that CHANGE by acting on it. Much Love to you Vanessa.