Westboro Baptist Church

[Enhance]

In a recent journalism class, we looked at and diagnosed the media impact that the Westboro Baptist Church has on America.

 

For those of you unfamiliar with the WBC, they are the "religious group" aka cult that is responsible for the picketing of soldier funerals, homosexual rallies/events, etc. They have roughly 100 members, 80 or so of which are all related family members.

 

I'm absolutely appalled by the stance these people take on these topics. They thank God for road side bombs in Iraq and generally blame everything on homosexuality. They picket the funerals of soldiers who died to protect their right to freedom of speech. Without soldiers and our veterans, America may not even have become America and they may not even have the right to do what they do.

 

One family of a deceased soldier actually sued the WBC for picketing their son's funeral. They won the case and earned 11 million dollars, yet the 4th circuit court of appeals overturned the ruling, stating that the WBC had every right to picket wherever they wanted as long as they followed 1st Amendment guidelines as well as state and local guidelines.

 

These people are masters of the 1st Amendment. They know it like the back of their hand. They will do everything they can to protest and picket within the rights of the law, without actually breaking any laws. They will picket a funeral, but they'll do it from a public area or some place that is in fact "legal".

 

So, I ask unto you, do you believe the WBC has the right to do what they do? Do you feel that as long as they are staying within the laws of our constitution they have the right to picket and protest as many funerals and "anti-God" events as they want to?

[fro daddy]

well technically they do have the right. And as you said they are well versed in the laws. If I remember correctly 2 of the daughters are laywers. They are scum, but they are smart. They raise their funds and money by sueing those who assult them or violate their rights. So while our rights as citizens were probably not intended for what they do, they do act within those rights. And everyone in this country is protected by those rules, even the stupid people.

 

Although, with that said Enhance, it doesnt mean that I dont wish a simi would jack knife and land on all them wiping them from the earth or that an unmaned military aircraft would crash or 'accidently' drop a payload on their little church in the middle of service.

 

I really dislike those people. That and they are KU fans.

[WCHusker]

I could care less what they are for or against, but there is no excuse whatsoever for their protesting at funerals. None, nada, zilch.

 

These morons are a good example of what happens when these right wing kooks start taking the BS that they spew too seriously. Personally, I'd like to see them all locked in their "church" as it's burnt to the ground. Freedom of speech should not apply when you are talking about making a scene at someone's f'ing funeral-let alone someone who died fighting for their country(regardless of how stupid the particular war may be).

 

All it would take is one sniper to turn the head of this Phelps a-hole who runs the place into an exploding watermelon. How it has never happened is beyond me.

[knapplc]

Do they have the right to do what they do? Absolutely. The law allows them to do what they're doing, and protects their right to do it.

 

Now, do I think what they're doing is wrong? With every fiber of my being. They fill me with an unreasonable rage. I despise them, their practices, their tactics and their lack of compassion. It gets me pissed off just thinking about them. Ugh.

[WCHusker]

Do they have the right to do what they do? Absolutely.

 

Don't be so sure about that.....

 

Justices to Hear Case of Protest at Marine Funeral

By ADAM LIPTAK

Published: March 8, 2010

 

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to decide whether the father of a Marine killed in Iraq may sue protesters who picketed his son’s funeral with signs that read “God Hates You” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

 

A federal appeals court dismissed the suit on First Amendment grounds and threw out a $5 million award against the protesters, who are members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., and maintain that God hates homosexuality and that the death of soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan is God’s way of punishing the United States for its tolerance of it.

 

The fallen Marine was Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, and his funeral was held in Westminster, Md., in 2006. His father, Albert Snyder, testified at trial in 2007 that the protests continued to haunt and disturb him.

 

“For the rest of my life,” Mr. Snyder said, “I will remember what they did to me, and it has tarnished the memory of my son’s last hour on earth.”

 

He added that he became angry and tearful when he thought about the protest and that the memory of it had caused him to vomit.

 

The protesters complied with local laws and instructions from the police about keeping their distance. They did not know the Snyders, and they had staged similar protests at other military funerals.

 

Mr. Snyder’s central claim is that the protesters intentionally inflicted emotional distress on him.

 

In 1988, the Supreme Court ruled that the First Amendment barred the Rev. Jerry Falwell from suing Hustler Magazine for intentional infliction of emotional distress. Hustler had published a parody of an advertisement suggesting that Mr. Falwell had incestuous sex in an outhouse. (Coincidentally, Mr. Falwell expressed views not wholly different from those of the funeral protesters, saying that the nation’s attitudes toward homosexuality and abortion had played a role in the Sept. 11 attacks.)

 

Mr. Snyder contends that the Hustler decision should not apply to suits brought by one private person against another. In libel and other cases, the Supreme Court has limited the First Amendment protection afforded to purely private speech.

 

A three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, in Richmond, Va., unanimously ruled against Mr. Snyder, though the judges split 2-to-1 over the rationale. The majority said the messages on the protesters’ signs were protected under the First Amendment because they addressed matters of general interest.

 

“As utterly distasteful as these signs are,” Judge Robert B. King wrote for the majority, “they involve matters of public concern, including the issues of homosexuals in the military, the sex-abuse scandal within the Catholic Church, and the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens.”

 

The Supreme Court will consider the case, Snyder v. Phelps, No. 09-751, in the fall.

[huzkerbob]

[Enhance]

I'm glad that the Supreme Court has decided to hear this case, although it is going to be extremely difficult. The judges are going to have to look past social biases and see if what the WBC is doing is unlawful or not.

 

Personally, I would love more than anything for the S.C. to rule for Snyder, and to ban the WBC from protesting events such as soldier funerals. But, what they do "technically" falls within the lines of the law. I'm glad I'm not a Supreme Court judge for this case.

 

If they rule for Snyder, then they will be protecting the American people (as a whole) and allowing limits to be put on the 1st amendment. If they rule against Snyder, well then they're all just a bunch of d*cks in the eyes of the American people, but then at least they upheld the constitution despite the sick way the WBC uses the 1st amendment.

[knapplc]

The Supremes have historically voted in favor of broader 1st Amendment rights, as they recently did in the case of political speech of corporations. I would be stunned if they ruled against the WBC's right to free speech in this instance. We'll see.

[carlfense]

The Supremes have historically voted in favor of the 1st Amendment, as they recently did in the case of political speech of corporations. I would be stunned if they ruled against the WBC's right to free speech in this instance. We'll see.

 

Agreed. I think the IIED claim is a long shot. As much as I hate the WBC and their actions . . . I hope the Supreme Court rules in favor of their 1st Amendment right to free speech.

 

“I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” -Evelyn Beatrice Hall,

[Husker_x]

Freedom of speech is the most important right we have. Phelps is a bastard who had better hope there is no hell, but they have the right to say whatever they want whenever they want. The day we start legislating against a person's opinion on religious or political issues, that's the day our gun rights are going to come in especially handy when we march on Washington armed.

 

Phelps will be dead of natural causes soon enough. I doubt his church survives him for very long.

 

This is an interesting case, though, because it forces us to ask ourselves how far will we go, how much will we tolerate, before we start wondering about protecting our own freedoms? In my case, I go all the way.

[Landlord]

It's really a terrible thing what is happening with this church, but my initial feelings every time I hear about this are closer defined as "sadness" I guess. I think what they are doing is terrible, but I've wanted to be at an event they are so I could talk to them and try to understand exactly what it is they think they believe in, and hopefully challenge those beliefs through love.

 

I hate what they do, but I want to help them realize what life is really about.

[knapplc]

It's really a terrible thing what is happening with this church, but my initial feelings every time I hear about this are closer defined as "sadness" I guess. I think what they are doing is terrible, but I've wanted to be at an event they are so I could talk to them and try to understand exactly what it is they think they believe in, and hopefully challenge those beliefs through love.

 

I hate what they do, but I want to help them realize what life is really about.

Have you never seen them in person? They were at my church a while back. They're a pretty zealous bunch. There's no reasoning with them.

[WCHusker]

They're going to be here in about a week. I should probably lock myself up the night that they are in town (but there is a pretty good counter protest building)

[carlfense]

They're going to be here in about a week. I should probably lock myself up the night that they are in town (but there is a pretty good counter protest building)

It saddens me that there will be a counter protest. That is exactly what the Westboro Baptist Church wants. The quickest way to anger them/shut them up would be for everyone to totally ignore them. No media coverage . . . no crowd watching their antics . . . nothing. If everyone went about their business like the WBC people weren't even there they'd probably feel like they wasted their time.

[Landlord]

It's really a terrible thing what is happening with this church, but my initial feelings every time I hear about this are closer defined as "sadness" I guess. I think what they are doing is terrible, but I've wanted to be at an event they are so I could talk to them and try to understand exactly what it is they think they believe in, and hopefully challenge those beliefs through love.

 

I hate what they do, but I want to help them realize what life is really about.

Have you never seen them in person? They were at my church a while back. They're a pretty zealous bunch. There's no reasoning with them.

 

 

I haven't, actually.

 

 

They're going to be here in about a week. I should probably lock myself up the night that they are in town (but there is a pretty good counter protest building)

It saddens me that there will be a counter protest. That is exactly what the Westboro Baptist Church wants. The quickest way to anger them/shut them up would be for everyone to totally ignore them. No media coverage . . . no crowd watching their antics . . . nothing. If everyone went about their business like the WBC people weren't even there they'd probably feel like they wasted their time.

 

Treating them with love and respect would work even better than ignoring them I feel.