By Jennie
Forty-eight states, as well as the District of Columbia, have signed onto a brief by the Kansas attorney general in support of a lawsuit filed by the father of a Marine killed in Iraq. Virginia and Maine declined to sign the brief, submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in support of Albert Snyder, who sued the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church for picketing outside his son’s 2006 funeral. The Westboro Baptist Church frequently protests outside high-profile funerals, seeking publicity for their view that the deaths of American soldiers, as well as various and sundry other ills afflicting our nation, are God’s punishment upon the country for its tolerance of homosexuality. Snyder had won his suit for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress against Westboro and its pastor, Fred Phelps, but the verdict was overturned by an appeals court which ruled that the actions of the group were protected speech.
The Westboro Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church headed by Fred Phelps and mostly comprised of members of his large family. The group first came to national prominence when it picketed the 1998 funeral of Matthew Shepherd; since then they have picketed the funerals of such diverse public figures as Coretta Scott King and Mr. Rogers. Their main criteria for a public protest appears to be how much media attention the protest will garner them. They first demonstrated at a fallen soldier’s funeral in 2005, and have since traveled the country to protest at many soldiers’ funerals.
While homosexuality appears to be by far the group’s greatest obsession, they also display strong anti-Semitic and anti-Catholic prejudices (really, any other religion or Protestant denomination whose teachings differ from theirs is strongly condemned). Their literature has also at times betrayed racist views, portraying black people as gorillas and Italians as criminals.
Several states have passed laws limiting the rights of protesters appearing at funerals, and in 2006 George Bush signed a law prohibiting picketers from demonstrating within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetary within a hour of the beginning or end of a funeral. The Supreme Court’s anticipated ruling on the appeals court’s decision may open the door to more legislation.
While the actions and views of Westboro Baptist Church are hateful and offensive to the great majority of Americans, court rulings and legislation that could potentially erode the freedoms offered by the First Amendment should be viewed with concern and caution. Do you believe picketing at funerals constitutes protected speech? Let us know your thoughts.
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27 Responses to 48 States Join Kansas Bid to End Funeral Protests
I believe the hate speech should not always be illegal, even though it is always hateful. I support the law prohibiting picketers from demonstrating within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetary within a hour of the beginning or end of a funeral. I consider the funeral to be a private function. No one has a right to force their free speech rights on a private function, just as no one has a right to demand that their comment be posted here. This site is hosted on the Internet, a public space if ever there was one, but this space is private.
I have no idea how that will play out in court though.
This makes me so angry. These so called Christians need a huge wake up call. If it were one of their family members I wonder if they would whip out their hateful signs so quickly, They are obviously not only misguided, but heartless and dare I say insane? The correlation between our service men and women losing their lives and God’s punishment is beyond radical. I would like to see their church services picketed- or maybe even their homes (on the public street of course). The hurt and aggravation they cause these families is unacceptable. Picketing a funeral should be illegal. Idiots.
Okay I just read the signs and now I’m pissed. Thank God for dead soldiers? God hates ……. ?
God hates lying and that is what they are doing. I am a Christian and this is the kind of BS that sends me into a rage. These people are the reason so many people look at Christianity and say “no thanks!” This is not Christianity. These are not God’s principles. I could call myself a rock star but it doesn’t make it so. They are spreading hate and lies. My God is merciful and full of love. Love that we can’t possibly conceive. If not- I imagine those evil picketers would all be splitting hell wide open right about now.
I find this whole protest revolting. I’m glad other states are joining in here. There is no goodness coming from these people. You can’t yell “fire” in a crowded place when there isn’t one, and you shouldn’t be able to protest with these vile signs etc..at a private funeral. My heart aches for those who have to endure this malevolence while attending these sad funerals for honorable, self sacrificing soldiers.
I am a huge proponent of free speech but your free speech cannot infringe on the liberty of another. I agree with Ann. A funeral is a private function. There should be strict parameters on where they can be, and that should be nowhere near where grieving family members can see.
That being said, we have to be careful to follow the first amendment, even with disgusting bigots like these. It’s probably no secret that I don’t have a whole lot of faith in the government and don’t want the government deciding which speech to censor.
When does it go from freedom of speech to harassment?
While I believe in free speech, I do not think this group should be allowed to picket at military funerals. Please do not judge all Christians by the actions of this group. They do not represent my brand of Christanity and I do not think that Jesus himself would approve of their actions.
I am big supporter of free speech too. There’s a right way to protest. Hate directed at individuals for their lifestyle and private ceremonies disgusts me. I didn’t realize this group started out picketing Matthew Shepherd’s funeral. How heartless these protesters are. People are grieving w/their hearts ripped out at the loss of a loved one and there they are w/slimy signs. How can they revel in delight at another person’s pain. I hope they are stopped. It sounds like they should be wearing white robes and hoods.
Good grief what fault did they find w/Mr. Rogers?
I don’t understand the brief in support of a lawsuit. I have never heard of that. I do understand that if the father of the Marine who was KIA wins, it would most likely put a stop to their actions.
Hi Rhonda, nice to see you.
They may call themselves “Christians” and “Baptists”, but they are just a cult, IMO.
Samantha@IW says…When does it go from freedom of speech to harassment?
That is really the million dollar question, isn’t it? I am really on the fence about this. I am leery of opening the door even a tiny bit to restriction of free speech. On the other hand, I don’t think it is unreasonable to require that the protesters are kept at somewhat of a distance – perhaps for their own safety more than anything. I am surprised nobody has shot them yet, to be honest. Perhaps if more cities/states adopted the 300 feet law, these crazies could be kept away from the family, but also allowed to practice their right to free speech. A right our fallen have died protecting.
It is very rare that I don’t promote and believe in freedom of speach.
This is one of those occassions.
I can’t imagine the kind of person who would spew hatred when a family is mourning the loss of a loved one. It’s sub-human to me.
Does anyone know why they picketed Mr. Rogers. My daughter grew up watching Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. It was the ONE show I never had to worry about what she saw., I wish he was on DVD so my grandson could watch. He would have only shown the protesters kindness and respect. It’s a shame they can’t give grieving families the same respect. That group actually picketed a local high school near me. Unbelieveable.
They picketed Mr. Rogers because they got attention for picketing Mr. Rogers. Seriously, all they are about is being as offensive and transgressive as humanly possible.
I do think Phelps is crazy and his family is a brain-washed cult. I feel terrible about the harm they do to innocent, grieving families. I don’t believe in eroding the First Amendment to keep them from doing what they do. I am interested in the opinions of Constitutional scholars on the issue, because my feeling is that if you can make laws that prevent this group from protesting as they have, and these laws do not violate First Amendment rights, then I am all for them. If you can’t make such laws without violating the First Amendment, it’s not worth it. This group does not deserve to have us undermine our own principals to silence them. Does that make sense?
I realize that not even all Constitutional scholars will agree on this, and even the SCOTUS may or may not interpret the Constitution in the “right” way – it’s not an exact science. As much as I abhor what they do, I just believe in erring on the side of caution when it comes to protected rights that are at the heart of what we believe as a nation.
As for a funeral being a private event, the group protests on public property – if they were trespassing it would be a much simpler issue. They do tend to draw counter-protesters wherever they go, as well as police, so it’s not like they are just allowed to harrass grieving families with impunity. Still, it makes me feel very bad to think that they would add to the grief of a family on their worst day (not
I don’t understand the brief in support of a lawsuit.
Extremely limited legal knowledge ahead: I don’t think these are uncommon. Isn’t that what an amicus curaie (“friend of the court”) brief is? Where’s Erin Kate when you need her?
Ugh, post above is messed up; forgive my broken-off sentence in the next-to-last paragraph (my fault) and my italicized response to Lily (not my fault; my posts are sometimes wonky in Safari and do weird things).
I think Jennie and I actually agree on something, LOL!!!!
They claimed that Mr. Rogers gave aid and comfort to homosexuals by not denouncing homoseuality. Also, he was a Presbyterian.
I think he is mentally ill. They are a cult.
I think Jennie and I actually agree on something, LOL!!!!
Remember this because it might not happen again.
Isn’t that what an amicus curaie (“friend of the court”)~Jennie
amicus sounds like friend. I have no idea, completely clueless. I have never heard of states supporting a private lawsuit. It’s very interesting.
It sounds like they are w/in their rights on public property, but they are sure evil and heartless people to inflict harm like that.
It’s times like this when I wish we didn’t have quite so much freedom of speech in our country.
I don’t always agree with Bill O’Reilly but I am so glad that he is helping the Snyder family. Rev. Phelps and his small group of followers are truly insane! Their hate of gays is so misguided that their protests make no sense. More than that they are infringing on the most personal and private pain a family can endure. I guarantee if it was my family involved in that type of tragedy and a bunch of idiots like Rev. Phelps tried to protest, the last thing I would do would be sue. Probably the first thing I would do is get a BB Gun or Paintball Gun and protect my right to privacy. By the way, I do not and never have owned any type of gun, but obviously protecting “freedom of speech” has gone too far, when common sense is no longer a factor. When the rights of the zealots and haters are more important than the rights of a soldier’s family something is very wrong!
Bill O’Reilly is backing a bereaved father’s bid to sue a Church who picketed his son’s funeral
Albert Snyder is suing the Westboro Baptist Church and its pastor, Fred Phelps, for picketing his son’s funeral after he had been killed in Iraq.
But Snyder said he couldn’t afford the legal fees which is where O’Reilly stepped in.
Talking on his show last night, O’Reilly offered Snyder $16,000 out of his own pocket to pay for the case.
O’Reilly said he fully backs Snyder and will will pick up the tab for the appeals that have been ordered by a federal court
I think Jennie and I actually agree on something, LOL!!!!
Oh, come on – we agree on baseball, right? And…chocolate? Probably a few other things, too.
Just to be clear, I have no problem with Mr. Snyder suing Phelps. It sounds like in addition to the funeral harrassment, Phelps wrote defamatory things about Snyder on his website. Furthermore, even if the verdict in the lawsuit isn’t strictly just, I can’t get too worked up about it – it’s one thing to have an unfair ruling on an individual suit; it’s another to make laws that restrict all of our freedoms in order to stop the abhorrent behavior of one group. I can’t get worked up too much about any injustice done to Phelps and his “church.” I just hate to see the First Amendment eroded essentially because of his actions.
Phelps has come to my city with these protests. It is ridiculous. I can’t imagine if someone would have protested a gay family member’s funeral. There is seriously something wrong with someone, especially a Christian pastor, creating signs that say “God hates anything.”
Nancy,
FYI these protestors are not staging these events because the soldiers were gay,they are targeting all U.S. soldier’s funerals because of the Gov’t policy of ‘don’t ask don’t tell”! None of it makes any sense at all. Haven’t these soldier’s families endured enough pain?
As a military wife this makes me absolutely sick to my core. While I am a firm believer of free speech, the last thing anyone should have to deal w/at a funeral of their loved one are the signs that these people are carrying around. If something were to happen to my husband while he was defending his country, his family & our rights for freedom and then I had to witness a protester holding a sign saying “God hates Soldiers” or “Thank God for IEDs” I would absolutely lose my mind. This is definitely crossing the line. I can’t even begin to put into words the emotions that the picture w/this topic evokes in me.
Actually, my understanding is the “basis” for their protests goes beyond “don’t ask, don’t tell.” They apparently believe the U.S., as a nation, encourages and fosters homosexuality and deserves whatever bad things happen to it. While they have protested at many military funerals, they have also protested at the funerals of murder victims, etc. Basically anywhere they can get attention, they will go.
I checked out their website and it is not for the faint of heart. It is a look into the darkest of hearts. For example, one post praised the recent shooting in the UK that killed 12 people.
Very sick stuff.
There is no question that these people are sick, twisted, vile bigots. The father is clearly a narcissist and I mean, personality disordered narcissist. Cult leaders usually are and this is a cult. This is not a church.
Other than the egregious defamation of soldier’s funerals (which is obviously heinous and cruel) I think what bothers me the most is that people see this and think it’s what Christianity is all about. These sickos are missing the entire point: 1. All have sinned and fall short 2. The word “love” is mentioned over 500 times in the bible.
“And now these three things remain, faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love”
“Love thy neighbor as thyself”
“If anyone says ‘I love God’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”
Why can’t these groups understand that?
To intrude upon a family in mourning with anything other than gentle compassion is wrong.
Hate should have no voice at a funeral.