And Fred Phelps has been honored multiple times by the racist outfit known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored (ONLY) People and other commie organizations.
Posted on 03/02/2011 10:11:47 AM PST by SeekAndFind
A Kansas church known for its angry, anti-gay protests at funerals of U.S. troops won an appeal Wednesday at the Supreme Court in a case testing the competing constitutional rights of free speech and privacy.
In an 8-1 ruling, the justices said that members of Westboro Baptist Church had a right to promote what they call a broad-based message on public matters such as wars. The father of a fallen Marine had sued the small church, saying those protests amounted to targeted harassment and an intentional infliction of emotional distress.
"Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and -- as it did here -- inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority.
At issue was a delicate test between the privacy rights of grieving families and the free speech rights of demonstrators, however disturbing and provocative their message. Several states have attempted to impose specific limits on when and where the church members can protest.
The church, led by pastor Fred Phelps, believes God is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality" through events including soldiers' deaths. Members have traveled the country shouting at grieving families at funerals and displaying such signs as "Thank God for dead soldiers," "God blew up the troops" and "AIDS cures fags."
(Excerpt) Read more at cnn.com ...
Here's his reasoning :
"The church's outrageous conduct caused petitioner great injury, and the court now compounds that injury by depriving petitioner of a judgment that acknowledges the wrong he suffered. In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims like petitioner."
Well, they ruled on Free Speech . . . much as we hate to see these clods get their way.
Can’t use that language on TV, can’t use the language in any classroom in America, but no problem at all to use that evil language against our military heroes.
Just damn damn damn.
Sorry Justice Alito but that's the same rationale used by Courts in England to fine and imprison people for criticizing homosexuality. No thanks.
The “church” in exercising their first amendment rights infringed on the father’s ability to exercise his right to practice his religion. The father has the right to bury his son with dignity in keeping with his religious practices.
And Fred Phelps has been honored multiple times by the racist outfit known as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored (ONLY) People and other commie organizations.
I believe the Supreme Court got this right. This same decision “should” continue to protect the rights of street corner preachers, as well as door-to-door witnessing for the Lord.
They should have sued Westboro for some specific infraction of law (if there was any) rather than from infringing their right to speak.
On the other hand, we may see folks unfortunately taking the law into their own hands and these “protestors” becoming targets for sniping. I think that municipalities can still limit their proximity to the funerals (such as 500 feet) - but how empty must a man’s soul be to revel in another’s grief.
The “pastor” of Westboro is actually a Democratic lawyer that thrives on lawsuits. The church has no membership apart from the seven or so members of the Phelps family and has no public services. The patriarch supported Al Gore during his presidential run. What more can be said.
Though the libera media will never admit it . . . these people are hate personified. If you ever see one of them interviewed, you can see the hate in their eyes and such hatred makes the possessor very ugly.
I was quite surprised at Justice Alito’s “Great Injury” argument. I would have expected that from the liberal side of the Court, but from Alito?
We all dislike Fred Phelps and his group, but if Alito’s argument were to win the day, anyone who claims “great injury” will limit everyone else’s right to speak.
RE: The patriarch supported Al Gore during his presidential run. What more can be said.
What is Al Gore’s public stance on Gays in the Military, DADT, Gay Marriage and a whole host of gay related issues ?
The Supreme Court ruled correctly in this case, but what we need to do now is track these so called church clowns. When one of their members or a relative die, we go to their funeral and have a tailgate party. Complete with beer, BBQ, noise makers, hell throw in a couple of strippers while we are at it. Turnabout is fair play. Show these morons the same direspect they have shown our brave warriors.
Aren’t these protesters required by most city ordinances to obtain a permit first? If so, the locals can surely deny a protest in the same vacinity as a funeral procession due to traffic concerns. The protesters could then stage their protest after the funeral was over. Right?
There IS the right however to practice any kind of perversion you'd like in the military and to be brainwashed into accepting that if you're a military person who disagrees with that law.
Why in the world would anyone enlist in the US military???
That'd take a real moron nowadays.
But please. No more whining on FR anymore about these Phelps citizens and taxpayers. Nothing they do can any longer be considered outrageous since they're just practicing their constitutionally protected right of free speech so Freepers shouldn't have anything to say about it.
*puke*
Gore believes whatever his campaign contributors tell him to believe.
My conjecture is that Phelps’ public face is a lot different from his private views. Personally, it would not surprise me to learn that he is also a sexual deviant.
BTW. I wonder what O'Reilly is going to say about this tonight? If I remember correctly he was saying that there was "no way" the Supreme Court would dare side with Westboro and shouted down anybody who tried to make the slippery slope argument as I did.
Alito’s statement isn’t reasoning; it is emotionalism. The principle in the Constitution is clear. It is interesting that Thomas voted with the majority because he was responsible early in his SCOTUS career for an atrocious anti-First Amendment decision involving a cross burning on private property.
Yes, it is more red tape for an already difficult event but the only way to keep creeps of all kinds from crashing a funeral. They would be trespassing and limited to access to public right of way only.
Eventually cemeteries would have to erect privacy walls from those public areas.
Twaddle!
No one says that people don't have a right to criticize the military. But they do not have a right to do so at a private venue.
I wonder if you think these schmucks could also make what ever noise is necessary to disturb the regular Saturday morning services at my synagogue.
The Court's decision is an outrage; but we've become inured to that.
ML/NJ
Uhh, their protests genreally take place on public streets and sidewalks outside the graveyards and funeral parlors. If you can ban them on this pretext you can ban the Tea Party if anyone says it causes them emotional distress. Scalia, Thomas and Roberts were definitely on the right side of this one.
I guess you think my synagogue is in the middle of some big private estate. But it's not. There's a public sidewalk probably no more than 20 feet from where our rabbi usually sits, and a public street another five feet away.
Anyone making disturbing sounds that we could hear inside the synagogue would properly be arrested for disturbing the peace. Remember "Disturbing the Peace"?
Shouting other people down is not freedom of speech. I'm astonished that any FReeper might think that it is.
ML/NJ
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