“How is sign stating, God hates... slanderous?”
It’s not (just) the signs.
It’s what phelps & co. shout out and spew over megaphones.
But as far as signs go, let me provide some examples of what phelps & co. have at military funerals....
“Thank God for IED’s”
“Thank God for Dead Soldiers”
“Soldiers Die, God Laughs”
And those are the more “tame” ones his group has used, and yeah they may not be “slanderous” but like I said it’s the chants and the taunts that phelps & co. say to the families.
Now put yourself in the position of any one of those family members and tell me that you wouldn’t sue phelps for his actions.
2CAVTrooper wrote: “Now put yourself in the position of any one of those family members and tell me that you wouldnt sue phelps for his actions.”
Actually, I probably wouldn’t sue, but that’s beside the point. As you wrote, none of those signs or statements were slanderous. However, EDINVA posted a written statement from the judge in the case. It doesn’t appear signs like, “Thank God for IEDs” were at issue. The church posted specific, slanderous comments about the family on the church web site. That makes it a completely different matter.