Anti-gay church's right to protest at military funerals is upheld

Dan82 · Mar 2, 2011

Read the actual court opinion here:http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/02/scotus.westboro.church/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1

A Kansas church that attracted nationwide attention for its angry, anti-gay protests at the funerals of U.S. military members has won its appeal at the Supreme Court, an issue testing the competing constitutional rights of free speech and privacy.

The justices, by an 8-1 vote, said Wednesday 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.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/03/02/scotus.westboro.church/index.html?hpt=T1&iref=BN1
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More here:http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/03/first-reactions-to-snyder/

By a wide majority today, the Supreme Court recognized a First Amendment right to protest peacefully near funerals on matters of public importance. That right, the Court concluded, precludes state law tort claims, such as claims for intentional infliction of emotional distress. The decision is a resounding affirmation of the right to engage peacefully in speech, even terribly hurtful speech, on matters of public import.

The Court concluded that the protests in this case met the public interest standard. “The ‘content’ of Westboro’s signs plainly relates to broad issues of interest to society at large, rather than matters of ‘purely private concern.’ The placards read ‘God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11,’ ‘America is Doomed,’ ‘Don’t Pray for the USA,’ … While those messages may fall short of refined social or political commentary, the issues they highlight—the political and moral conduct of the United States and its citizens, the fate of our Nation, homosexuality in the military, and scandals involving the Catholic Clergy—are matters of public import...

http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/03/first-reactions-to-snyder/
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More:http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/02/w...e+-+Hit+&+Run+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Reader

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito is the lone dissenter in the high court's ruling for the Westboro Baptist Church in Snyder v. Phelps.

The case involved a March 2006 demonstration by Rev. Fred Phelps' and some members of his family at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.

The protest at Snyder’s funeral -- one of many that members of the Topeka, Kansas church have organized, often (and in this case) bearing signs that read "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," "Thank God for IEDs," "God Hates Fags," "Pope in Hell," etc. -- was confined to a public area adjacent to the event. At their nearest approach, according to Chief Justice John Roberts' ruling, the demonstrators and the funeral party were separated by a distance of at least 200 feet...

http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/02/w...e+-+Hit+&+Run+Blog)&utm_content=Google+Reader
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I’ll post more is they come in

Anti-gay church's right to protest at military funerals is upheld

Dan82 Full Member

Dan82
Full Member