Kansas Westboro church members, led by pastor Fred Phelps, believe God is punishing the United States for "the sin of homosexuality" including through soldiers’ deaths. They travel the country, shouting at grieving family members at funerals and displaying such signs as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," "God Blew Up the Troops," and "AIDS Cures Fags."
This has spawned the formation of another group, the Patriot Guard Riders, who can be invited by the family to send hundreds of volunteers to shield them from the church demonstrators.
Meanwhile, in Omaha, Nebraska, during church services for Staff Sgt. Michael Bock, 26, who died August 13 in Afghanistan's Helmand province, both groups had hundreds in attendance, in addition to a splinter group of 12 counter-protesters. Police were keeping the entire menagerie at bay, when a truck drove into the crowd firing pepper spray, probably directed at the church members. The 62-year old man had his child in the truck with him (guess he couldn’t find a babysitter!).
Missouri state lawmakers tried to stop these funeral spectacles by passing legislation criminalizing picketing “in front or about” a funeral location or a funeral procession. Early this month a federal judge rejected Missouri's tight restrictions, saying they violated the free speech clause of the First Amendment.
So do families have the right to a peaceful funeral for their loved ones who served our country, or does the right to freedom of speech trump their privacy?
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Comments (62)
absolutely. i always thought funerals were considered private events, anyway. if they aren't, they should be. i doubt i'll ever have protesters at my funeral, but things like that should be invite-only. if weddings are, why not funerals?
Yes! The family has a right to mourn in peace!
There should be NO protesting at a funeral. That is the most disgusting and disrespectful thing to do. These people DIED for our country, and I don't even support the war. Who cares if they are gay or straight, they were away fighting while these people did nothing but spit out hateful messages.
This is disgusting! I am ashamed that people are capable of being so insensitive.
UPDATE: The Missouri legislature passed a law banning such picketing in 2005, which was overturned by the Federal court in 2010. Kansas passed a similar bill in 2007, which was declared unconstitutional by the Kansas Supreme Court in 2008 because of some defective language. The Kansas bill was modified and passed again, but a challenge case now is before the Kansas Supreme Court. An Ohio law that bans picketing within 300 ft (awfully close!) of a funeral was upheld by the U.S. District Court in 2008.
Their privacy and moments of grieving come first. If my older brother had died over seas when he was deported I would not have been able to handle a bunch of rude anti-soldier protesters at his funeral. They are insensitive and I hope no one goes to their funerals. Go shout your anti-gay bullshit somewhere else.
I am with the protesters in most cases but when it comes to allowing a peaceful funeral and burial of your loved one I think ALL protesters should back off.
Indeed! That's ridiculous.
They should have their picket signs shoved up their asses for such shameful behaviour.
Anyone with that little respect for other human beings shouldn't be allowed to have free speech to begin with. I'm all for deporting the entirety of the Westboro nutjob klan.
I love my first amendment rights as much as (or more than...I can be rather snarky) the next person but I would actually be ok with giving them all away just to shut those people up, I detest them that much.
I'm a little embarrassed for the country every time someone says these protesters don't have the legal right to do this. People seem to be against censorship and sedition, but the second the First Amendment goes too far for them (naturally without becoming grounds for an Assault charge), we need to make special Constitutional provisions. Censorship is censorship is censorship is censorship is censorship...
These protesters are morally despicable morons who wouldn't know what their own religion's amount if it cracked them across the face. Morally: wrong. That said, legally: right. The correct response of a responsible society is that of the Patriot Guard Riders.
@saeglopur - I agree, I hate these people with everything I am, I have seen them protest a friends funeral. But a soldier's job is to help protect the constitution, regardless if we agree with how it is being used. I have just seen this country argue over the right to build a mosque, regardless of what their freedoms are. The Patriot Guard is not just society's responce, but the responce of Vietnam vets who do not want what happened to them, when they came home from 'Nam to happen to our current vets.
So...I support the first amendment, but I hate what these people are doing with it.
it is insensitive at a time of morning. they lack respect.
though they have the right to do so. they must remember that all those military that have died and will die are doing so for them to have that right. though they have that right, they lack the responsibility to correctly use that right and that is why i feel they are insensitive and lack respect
These people are total assholes. Funerals are a time of mourning for the family, and that should be respected. The memory of the soldier who died for our country should not be desecrated by homophobic morons.
How can they even THINK that gays "cause" soldier deaths?! There is no correlation!
I hate it when people are ignorant.
Anti gay church protestors should be banned period.
How disrespectful...they may have the right to do it but they need to learn some tact. Seriously.
Westboro should be banned from existing. Period.
This bunch of crazies showed up at a church back home the lady pastor of the church removed them from her parking lot she took Fred by the arm and told him he and his people were not welcome I totally agree with her
I am anti gay marriage. but i dont in any way discriminate or show signs like that.
"christians" who do this claiming its a god driven thing. are not christians at all because in the bible it says you should not judge because the only judge there is is god himself.
@x_colormepretty_x@xanga - Agreed
The Westboro Baptist Hate Society should be banned from everything. Including life.
it's freedom of speech soooooo I don't see it being banned anytime soon.
Sadly, it's moved beyond protesting gay marriage. They showed up at a candlelight vigil for a fourteen-year-old girl that had been brutally murdered claiming it was God's judgment on the people. I only heard about it from word of mouth. Luckily our newspapers have stopped writing anything about these media whores.
I would bring a gun and shoot these idiots if they ever picketed a family members funeral like that. I'd call it divine punishment for idiocy.
I wonder how many would show up and picket at a funeral in the 'hood? I wonder how long their antics would last if a mob chased them down and beat their ass? They are taking a lot of risks by their behaviors.
First Amendment guarantees us the right of Free Speech, but that right has limits and responsibilities. Westboro takes it to the edge of the envelope. Supreme Court generall holds the position that the extent of your "rights" end when they begin to infringe on someone else's freedoms, i.e. my church sacrifices babies on an altar. My Constitutional right to worship does not trump murdering a child, therefore my right to worship how I choose is going to be trumped by the baby's right to live. Same goes with the fact that if you yell "fire" in a crowded theatre and cause a panic and stampede, and people are killed or injured, they are coming after your ass. Your "right to free speech" does not trump the right to public safety.
That said, it is hard to see where Westboro gets away with their behaviors. Nebraska's laws against this nonsense are not constitutionally sound, our Attorney General just declined to prosecute Shirley Roper Phelps and her son on a charge of flag desecration, disturbing the peace, and other related charges due to the above mentioned incident, because he knew our law would not hold up constitutionally. Most states are trying to come up with laws to exclude funerals and protect them from these idiots.
What I wonder is, where do they get their money? This is a rogue church, all denominations and branches of the Bapists detest them, and do not fund them. I would think they'd be investigated left and right, FBI, IRS, and all the government goon squads. Seems the ACLU is strangely quiet on these people as well. Where is Jackson and Sharpton and the NAACP when it is the funeral of a black soldier? Or do they discriminate and only picket whitey's funeral?
Sad part is, they muddy their cause by their behavior. You may agree or not with the concept that we as a nation are being "punished" for our gays and lesbians, our military positions, etc., but all these people do is give themselves and their causes a black eye. The nation focuses on their abhorrent behavior, not on the causes they rally about.