“in the way these idiots are claiming it.”
So, the only way to protest is YOUR way....sounds like a big government response to me
“Among all their other misfeasances, the legal mainstream understanding of exactly what the First Amendment protects has gone seriously off the rails. “
You are gonna have to justify to me what exactly in the first amendment you are speaking of. Am I supposed to just adhear to whatever viewpoint you happen to have at any particular moment in time, or listen to the supreme court and what I read in the document that I have displayed in my garage for all to see?
“But wait—there’s more! In order to protect Phelps’s “right,” it is required by eight of nine justices that the mourners suppress their natural, healthy reaction to this perverse assembly.”
You mean resist your natural urge to do harm or kill another human being? I overcame that urge decades ago. The law allows for different viewpoints to be expressed, no matter how offensive they may be to you. The law does not allow for assault or murder. You are just a little off topic here
“As with many other novel “rights,””
Funny, I do not consider any of the Rights under the constitution as “Novel”....perhaps you would feel more comfortable in another country...try cuba or china, they would not tolerate the type of Freedom you are expressly speaking of prohibiting..
What do you mean by "listen to the Supreme Court"?
The language of Amendment I is crystal clear and does not require interpretation. Any "interpretation" which changes the clear meaning which lacks the concurrence of 2/3 of each House of Congrgess and 3/4 of the states is just meaningless blather.
Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech - fine. Phelps can say anything he wants.
Congress shall make no law abridging the right... of the people peaceably to assemble; and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances - fine. Phelps and his people can peaceably assemble, and they can do so for the purpose of petitioning the government for redress.
The parents of the 9 year old killed in Tucson are not the government. Phelps may not assemble to petition them - for anything.
The trend of USSC decisions which conflate the rights of speech and peaceable assembly to permit riotous "demonstrations" is not in MY constitution, and it's not in yours, either, in your garage or elsewhere.
Any time before 50 years ago, Phelps would have been horsewhipped long since - an outcome perfectly in accord with the Founders, and the Constitution.