There’s a rule of thumb that says the most volatile subjects for any discussion are politics and religion. We’ like to add two more: Leonard Nimoy (don’t mess with Trekkies), and… military funerals.
Military funerals are sad enough affairs as is… A loved one, serving the nation, lost in the line of duty.
Imagine then, uninvited guests to the same funeral, picketing, protesting shouting “God hates you” and “You’re going to hell” displaying signs “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Blew Up the Troops.”
The controversy over these protests moves to center stage as the Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case of Snyder v. Phelps.
So what exactly is the story behind Snyder v. Phelps? Citizen Media Law Project gives us the facts:
Westboro Baptist Church pastor and founder Fred Phelps and members of his congregation picketed [Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder's] funeral, holding signs expressing anti-gay, anti-American, and anti-Catholic slogans
The church, led by pastor Fred Phelps, said it believes God is punishing the United States for “the sin of homosexuality” through events such as soldiers‘ deaths…Members have traveled the country, shouting at grieving family members at funerals.
A Maryland jury awarded $10 million in damages to Albert Snyder, whose son Matthew was killed in Iraq in March 2006. He had sued Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas…In September, however, the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals threw out the entire award on free-speech grounds.
And where does that leave us now? ACSBlog has us covered:
The Supreme Court granted certiorari in three cases for its term starting this fall, including one involving a $5 million jury verdict against the fiercely anti-gay group led by Kansas preacher
As framed by lawyers for Snyder, the issues to be resolved by the high court will be whether the 1988 case of Hustler v. Falwell, which limited the use of the “emotional distress” tort, applies in cases like Snyder’s, and whether freedom of speech trumps freedom of religion and peaceful assembly.
Uh-huh. Translate for us, SCOTUS Blog!
The funeral picketing case (Snyder v. Phelps, et al., 09-751) focuses on a significant question of First Amendment law: the degree of constitutional protection given to private remarks made about a private person, occurring in a largely private setting.
Now to the opinions! Chris Weigant at HuffPost, let er’ rip:
If the door is opened up on lawsuits against Phelps by this case, it wouldn’t take long for Phelps and his church to be stripped of the means of traveling around the country promulgating hatred…While not a perfect answer to Phelps and his group of hatemongers, individual civil lawsuits against him seem to me to be an acceptable answer to his provocation.
The Supreme Court has just agreed to hear Snyder v. Phelps, the funeral picketing case. I think the lower court decision is quite right, and I worry that the Court’s decision signals the Justices’ willingness to overturn it. But I hope the Justices will do the right thing, notwithstanding the speech involved.
So tell us what YOU think! Come on, we know you’ve got an opinion! Tell us what it is…
