Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal

**Jason** · 10-09-2009, 07:58 PM

RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a fundamentalist Kansas church's protest outside the funeral of a Westminster Marine killed in Iraq is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family, reversing a lower court's $5 million award.

The ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., held that the signs and writings of the Westboro Baptist Church, which included anti-gay and anti-military messages, are protected by the First Amendment. The Topeka-based congregation has protested at military funerals across the country

"Notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words being challenged in these proceedings, we are constrained to conclude that the defendants' signs and [what it has on its Web sites] are constitutionally protected," Circuit Court Judge Robert B. King wrote in the majority opinion.

Margie Jean Phelps, an attorney for Westboro and the daughter of the church's leader, said "it was an absolute shame to have a little church put on trial because of your religious beliefs."

"Everyone knows that we didn't disrupt a funeral," said Phelps, daughter of the Rev. Fred W. Phelps Sr. "Our speech, on our signs and our Web sites, is public speech. It's not on private matters. It's on public issues, so it's protected."

http://www.military.com/news/article...24&ESRC=dod.nl

**Drew1369** · 10-10-2009, 01:24 AM

As shameful as their protests are, I agree with the courts on this.

WBC is shunned on most if not all of the religious community

**Canaanabolaanan** · 10-10-2009, 10:30 AM

I agree on both points. They should have the right to. But they are a sick bunch. I'd like for people to harass-protest them during tough times.

**simpswr** · 10-10-2009, 10:46 AM

So it should be ok for me to take a dump on the front steps of their church while they are holding services?

Mcninjaguy · 10-10-2009, 12:30 PM

Can I mail a bag of poo with instructions to light in on fire on arrival, lol.

**Canaanabolaanan** · 10-10-2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by simpswr

So it should be ok for me to take a dump on the front steps of their church while they are holding services?

Oh how I wish it were.

**djaburg** · 10-10-2009, 10:15 PM

Ahh...but the church is private property. Now if it was on the sidewalk in front of the chuch, that's different.

On a serious note, that is about as tasteless as it gets. What about respect for the deceased as his family? Protest all you want, and you certainly have a right to, but don't get pissed when people view you and your protest as bags of feces as you do it during a FUNERAL. And the lawyer was put off that they were sued. Have we really strayed that far off course that we suddenly think that it's OK to make a political statement at a funeral? Sad...just sad.

**simpswr** · 10-11-2009, 07:05 AM

. . see . . we do agree

**djaburg** · 10-11-2009, 10:03 AM

10-09-2009, 07:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
Jason BANNED Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Pasco, FL Posts: 8,497 OS: Windows Vista My System Blog Entries: 2	Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal RICHMOND, Va. -- A federal appeals court ruled Thursday that a fundamentalist Kansas church's protest outside the funeral of a Westminster Marine killed in Iraq is protected speech and did not violate the privacy of the service member's family, reversing a lower court's $5 million award. The ruling from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., held that the signs and writings of the Westboro Baptist Church, which included anti-gay and anti-military messages, are protected by the First Amendment. The Topeka-based congregation has protested at military funerals across the country "Notwithstanding the distasteful and repugnant nature of the words being challenged in these proceedings, we are constrained to conclude that the defendants' signs and [what it has on its Web sites] are constitutionally protected," Circuit Court Judge Robert B. King wrote in the majority opinion. Margie Jean Phelps, an attorney for Westboro and the daughter of the church's leader, said "it was an absolute shame to have a little church put on trial because of your religious beliefs." "Everyone knows that we didn't disrupt a funeral," said Phelps, daughter of the Rev. Fred W. Phelps Sr. "Our speech, on our signs and our Web sites, is public speech. It's not on private matters. It's on public issues, so it's protected." http://www.military.com/news/article...24&ESRC=dod.nl __________________ Posting Tips \| Advice for New People \| Common Fixes \| Agus na damnaithe fágtha gan focal Glaoigh ormsa i measc na naomh Love to ONE, friendship to a FEW, and good will to ALL.

10-10-2009, 01:24 AM	#2 (permalink)
Drew1369 Moderator Relaxation Room Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Seattle, WA, USA Posts: 3,453 OS: Win7 Ultimate	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal As shameful as their protests are, I agree with the courts on this. WBC is shunned on most if not all of the religious community __________________ We humans have a primal urge to kill because, thanks to natural selection, all the homo sapiens who didn't have a primal urge to kill, were themselves killed. http://obamaclock.org/

10-10-2009, 10:30 AM	#3 (permalink)
Canaanabolaanan TSF Enthusiast Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 579 OS: XP Pro SP3	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal I agree on both points. They should have the right to. But they are a sick bunch. I'd like for people to harass-protest them during tough times.

10-10-2009, 10:46 AM	#4 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 12,318 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal So it should be ok for me to take a dump on the front steps of their church while they are holding services? __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

10-10-2009, 12:30 PM	#5 (permalink)
Mcninjaguy Temporarily Banned Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada Posts: 10,422 OS: Windows 7 Ultimate 64bit My System Blog Entries: 1	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal Can I mail a bag of poo with instructions to light in on fire on arrival, lol.

10-10-2009, 10:15 PM	#7 (permalink)
djaburg TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,326 OS: XP SP3/Vista/7 Server 2K/2K3/2K8	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal Ahh...but the church is private property. Now if it was on the sidewalk in front of the chuch, that's different. On a serious note, that is about as tasteless as it gets. What about respect for the deceased as his family? Protest all you want, and you certainly have a right to, but don't get pissed when people view you and your protest as bags of feces as you do it during a FUNERAL. And the lawyer was put off that they were sued. Have we really strayed that far off course that we suddenly think that it's OK to make a political statement at a funeral? Sad...just sad. __________________ Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done. The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings, while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.

10-11-2009, 07:05 AM	#8 (permalink)
simpswr Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: May 2007 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 12,318 OS: XP, Vista, Win 7	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal . . see . . we do agree __________________ Rich MemTest86 \| BenchTest \| Virus/Trojan/Spyware Help How to post a Screen Shot \| PC running slow?

10-11-2009, 10:03 AM	#9 (permalink)
djaburg TSF Enthusiast Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1,326 OS: XP SP3/Vista/7 Server 2K/2K3/2K8	Re: Court Says GI Funeral Protests Legal __________________ Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don't need to be done. The inherent vice of capitalism is the uneven division of blessings, while the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal division of misery.