ianstone
10-01-2010, 03:56 AM
Is it free speech? Supreme Court to rule on church's anti-gay rallies at U.S. military funerals
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 8:46 AM on 1st October 2010
I still after all my 56 years can't fathom these people out.
They just want to make me vomit, then put them through a tree shredder. Why?
The Supreme Court is to rule on whether anti-gay protests which target the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan fall within the bounds of free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Members of a small church in Kansas have attended numerous funerals of servicemen, drawing attention to their views that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
The Westbro Baptist Church representatives travelled 1,100 miles for the funeral of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, arriving with banners that read 'Thank God for dead soldiers', 'You're Going to Hell' and 'God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D772D000005DC-641_468x286.jpg Fringes of freedom: Young members of Reverend Fred Phelps's family hold posters claiming that military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's vengeance for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-04D0322F000005DC-494_233x423.jpg Anti-gay preacher: Rev Phelps seen at his Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas
The church is run by Reverend Fred Phelp, and the Supreme Court is to rule on whether his protests are covered by the First Amendment of the Constitution - after a lawsuit was filed against Rev Phelps and Westbro by the Snyder's father Albert.
More...
'He was spying on me': U.S. student who killed himself after roommate broadcast gay sex film on web made cry for help on day of his death (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316600/Tyler-Clementi-suicide-Emails-reveal-teenagers-private-torment.html)
The court faces an 'only-in-America' quandary: whether the freedom of speech is so powerfully woven in the nation's fabric that it protects one family's right to vile and hurtful protest at the very moment of another family's most profound grief.
Mr Snyder, 55, filed his lawsuit four years ago against Fred Phelps and the members of the church who picketed the funeral.
He said the protest was so venomous that the route of the funeral procession had to be altered.
Weeks after the funeral, when Mr Snyder was looking online for tributes made for his son, he found a poem on the church's website that attacked Mr Snyder and his ex-wife for the way they brought up Matthew.
It was that insult that led to Mr Snyder to take action, and he filed a suit accusing Rev Phelps and his church of intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
He originally won $11million at trial, but this was later reduced by a judge to $5million.
The federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, eventually threw out the verdict - saying the Constitution shielded the church members from liability.
Mr Snyder carried on with the suit, saying: 'They want to use the First Amendment as both a sword and a shield and that's not right'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D77C9000005DC-597_224x280.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D7736000005DC-757_224x280.jpg
Suffering: Albert Snyder said his family went through emotional distress after members of the Kansas church gatecrashed the funeral of his son Matthew
The Supreme Court decided to hear what could be a landmark case, giving hope that the ruling might say that funerals are different.
Mr Snyder is angered by the behaviour of the protesters at his only son's funeral.
He said: 'It's an insult to myself, my family and the veterans to say this is what our military men and women died for'.
Mr Snyder said his son fought and died for freedom in Iraq, but not for the right of some 'wacko' to spew hate at a dead soldier's funeral and then be protected under the Constitution.
The court will decide if members of the fundamentalist church have the constitutional right to say what they want.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-03946E10000005DC-651_468x286.jpg Mr Snyder filed his lawsuit four years ago against Rev Phelps and the members of the church who picketed the funeral. He said the protest was so venomous that the route of the funeral procession had to be altered
It has been argued that intruding on a private citizen's funeral in a hurtful way is a line that no American should cross.
If Mr Snyder wins he stands to collect millions of dollars for the emotional pain he says his family has suffered.
Margie Phelps, daughter of the reverend and the lawyer representing her family members at the Supreme Court, said it would be devastating if Mr Snyder won his case.
She said if the justices re-instate the $5million judgment to Mr Snyder, anyone who says anything upsetting to a mourner 'is subject to a crushing penalty'.
But Mr Snyder said: 'This isn't a case of free speech. It's a case of harassment'.
His son Matthew died just five weeks after arriving in Iraq, in a non-combat related vehicle accident.
Mr Snyder said he could accept his son's death because Matthew always wanted to be a soldier but he wasn't prepared for what was to follow.
Opinion is divided on the sensitive issue.
Groups including the Anti-Defamation League,are not taking sides but say the case is a poor one for making any broad pronouncements about the First Amendment that could inhibit religious expression.
Some conservative groups worry that a ruling for Mr Snyder could be used to limit anti-abortion protests.
On the other side, all the states, except Maine and Virginia, and veterans groups say the court should stand behind state laws that limit funeral protests and recognise that mourners at a funeral have a right to be left alone.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316701/Supreme-Court-rule-free-speech-churchs-anti-gay-rallies-military-funerals.html#ixzz115iiy7RG
By Daily Mail Reporter (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/search.html?s=y&authornamef=Daily+Mail+Reporter)
Last updated at 8:46 AM on 1st October 2010
I still after all my 56 years can't fathom these people out.
They just want to make me vomit, then put them through a tree shredder. Why?
The Supreme Court is to rule on whether anti-gay protests which target the funerals of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan fall within the bounds of free speech protected by the U.S. Constitution.
Members of a small church in Kansas have attended numerous funerals of servicemen, drawing attention to their views that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
The Westbro Baptist Church representatives travelled 1,100 miles for the funeral of Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, arriving with banners that read 'Thank God for dead soldiers', 'You're Going to Hell' and 'God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D772D000005DC-641_468x286.jpg Fringes of freedom: Young members of Reverend Fred Phelps's family hold posters claiming that military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's vengeance for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-04D0322F000005DC-494_233x423.jpg Anti-gay preacher: Rev Phelps seen at his Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas
The church is run by Reverend Fred Phelp, and the Supreme Court is to rule on whether his protests are covered by the First Amendment of the Constitution - after a lawsuit was filed against Rev Phelps and Westbro by the Snyder's father Albert.
More...
'He was spying on me': U.S. student who killed himself after roommate broadcast gay sex film on web made cry for help on day of his death (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316600/Tyler-Clementi-suicide-Emails-reveal-teenagers-private-torment.html)
The court faces an 'only-in-America' quandary: whether the freedom of speech is so powerfully woven in the nation's fabric that it protects one family's right to vile and hurtful protest at the very moment of another family's most profound grief.
Mr Snyder, 55, filed his lawsuit four years ago against Fred Phelps and the members of the church who picketed the funeral.
He said the protest was so venomous that the route of the funeral procession had to be altered.
Weeks after the funeral, when Mr Snyder was looking online for tributes made for his son, he found a poem on the church's website that attacked Mr Snyder and his ex-wife for the way they brought up Matthew.
It was that insult that led to Mr Snyder to take action, and he filed a suit accusing Rev Phelps and his church of intentionally inflicting emotional distress.
He originally won $11million at trial, but this was later reduced by a judge to $5million.
The federal appeals court in Richmond, Virginia, eventually threw out the verdict - saying the Constitution shielded the church members from liability.
Mr Snyder carried on with the suit, saying: 'They want to use the First Amendment as both a sword and a shield and that's not right'.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D77C9000005DC-597_224x280.jpg
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-0B6D7736000005DC-757_224x280.jpg
Suffering: Albert Snyder said his family went through emotional distress after members of the Kansas church gatecrashed the funeral of his son Matthew
The Supreme Court decided to hear what could be a landmark case, giving hope that the ruling might say that funerals are different.
Mr Snyder is angered by the behaviour of the protesters at his only son's funeral.
He said: 'It's an insult to myself, my family and the veterans to say this is what our military men and women died for'.
Mr Snyder said his son fought and died for freedom in Iraq, but not for the right of some 'wacko' to spew hate at a dead soldier's funeral and then be protected under the Constitution.
The court will decide if members of the fundamentalist church have the constitutional right to say what they want.
http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2010/10/01/article-1316701-03946E10000005DC-651_468x286.jpg Mr Snyder filed his lawsuit four years ago against Rev Phelps and the members of the church who picketed the funeral. He said the protest was so venomous that the route of the funeral procession had to be altered
It has been argued that intruding on a private citizen's funeral in a hurtful way is a line that no American should cross.
If Mr Snyder wins he stands to collect millions of dollars for the emotional pain he says his family has suffered.
Margie Phelps, daughter of the reverend and the lawyer representing her family members at the Supreme Court, said it would be devastating if Mr Snyder won his case.
She said if the justices re-instate the $5million judgment to Mr Snyder, anyone who says anything upsetting to a mourner 'is subject to a crushing penalty'.
But Mr Snyder said: 'This isn't a case of free speech. It's a case of harassment'.
His son Matthew died just five weeks after arriving in Iraq, in a non-combat related vehicle accident.
Mr Snyder said he could accept his son's death because Matthew always wanted to be a soldier but he wasn't prepared for what was to follow.
Opinion is divided on the sensitive issue.
Groups including the Anti-Defamation League,are not taking sides but say the case is a poor one for making any broad pronouncements about the First Amendment that could inhibit religious expression.
Some conservative groups worry that a ruling for Mr Snyder could be used to limit anti-abortion protests.
On the other side, all the states, except Maine and Virginia, and veterans groups say the court should stand behind state laws that limit funeral protests and recognise that mourners at a funeral have a right to be left alone.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1316701/Supreme-Court-rule-free-speech-churchs-anti-gay-rallies-military-funerals.html#ixzz115iiy7RG