Posted on 05/22/2010 4:04:36 PM PDT by lightman
Albert Snyder speaks at Gettysburg rally for troops By JEFF FRANTZ
Daily Record/Sunday News Updated: 05/22/2010 05:32:12 PM EDT
GETTYSBURG - When they came home to bury their friend in 2006, Pete Bellizzi and Dan Broughton saw so much respect for Marine Sgt. Jonathan Eric McColley, the way he lived and the sacrifice he made to keep their country safe.
But Bellizzi and Broughton - both Gettysburg natives, now staff sergeants who keep military planes in the air - remember something else about the funeral for McColley, who was killed in a helicopter crash off the coast of Africa.
Westboro Baptist Church members were there, they said, waiving their hateful signs, attempting to ruin the memory of their friend. They have not forgotten the display.
Both men were among the dozens Saturday at Battlefield Harley-Davidson to shake hands with Albert Snyder and offer their support as the Spring Garden Township man prepares to take his case against the Rev. Fred Phelps and his family before the U.S. Supreme Court. Snyder was there for a question-and-answer session with M.C. Fred Snyder, no relation, as part of Support Our Troops Day.
Gettysburg Mayor Bill Troxell gave Albert Snyder a key to the city.
Snyder sued Westboro in 2006 for defamation and invasion of privacy after its protest outside the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Snyder won in federal court, but Westboro appealed on First Amendment grounds and won at the federal appeals level. The Supreme Court agreed to hear Snyder's appeal of that decision.
"I know hundreds of people that would support him Advertisement and back him at a moment's notice," said Broughton, a staff sergeant in the Air National Guard, who returned from a tour of duty in Afghanistan on Friday.
"I think the freedom of speech only goes so far. Use it to fight for good things that will help the country, not to promote yourself because you're ignorant ... they only reason you can do this is because of what people have sacrificed."
During his question-and-answer, Snyder told the crowd that while his lawyers were not billing him for their time, he still had to pay their expenses. So far, he said, that tab has reached $150,000 and that does not include the $16,000 in legal fees he has been ordered to pay the Phelps family, a cost Fox News talk show host Bill O'Reilly has volunteered to pay.
Snyder's lawyers will file their briefs with the Court this week. Amicus briefs supporting his cause are due June 1. Fourteen attorney generals - including Pennsylvania's Tom Corbett - have agreed to join in a brief written by Kansas Attorney General Stephen Six, Snyder said. Other states are still considering joining in.
"Right now, we feel we have a 50-50 shot," Snyder said. "People are claiming this is free speech. This is not the type of free speech my son died for ... Having been through it, I see this as harassment."
For complete background and the latest news on Snyder v. Phelps, see ydr.com/westboro.
Semper Fi, your Honor!
Tom Corbett just won the GOP Gubernatorial nomination by a 3:1 margin.
ping
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