Why the Supreme Court Ruled for Westboro

[BridgeTheGap]

Albert Snyder has always sworn that he wasn't doing it for the money. He wasn't a waging a four-year legal battle against Westboro Baptist Church, the Topeka, Kansas-based fringe group that stages protests at military funerals, for a cash settlement. Yes, he was seeking millions in damages, but his goal was to silence the group. Westboro believes that God is punishing troops for America's tolerance of homosexuality, and has called upon the church to spread this message. So in March of 2006, seven Westboro protestors flew more than 1,000 miles to attend the funeral of Snyder's son, Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, 20, who had been killed in Iraq the week before. They hoisted revolting signs, which said things like "Thank God for 9/11" and "You're Going to Hell" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers."

Snyder said was fighting to protect other families, already coping with the tragedy of losing a loved one, from the pain that Westboro inflicted on him. Feeling that protestors ruined his son's funeral, held in a Roman Catholic Church in Westminster, Md. Snyder got depressed. He could no longer drive his car for long stretches, alone with his thoughts, since Westboro's words were drilled into his mind. "To me, what they did was just as bad, if not worse, than if they had taken a gun and shot me," Snyder told TIME during a September interview. "At least the wound would have healed."

But now, thanks to the Supreme Court of the United States, Snyder has lost more than the money he might have gotten in damages. He's lost the bigger fight. Westboro will only get louder. His attempt to shield its targets fell short.

In a sweeping 8-1 victory for First Amendment fundamentalists, and for Westboro, the Supreme Court on March 2nd upheld Westboro's right to picket a military funeral. The case, Snyder v. Phelps, was among the most charged on the Supreme Court docket last year, as Albert Snyder sought to recover the $5 million in damages awarded by a lower court jury, but overturned on appeal. The Supreme Court affirmed the judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit: in this case, the First Amendment shields Westboro from the torts of intentional infliction of emotional distress, and intrusion upon seclusion.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2056613,00.html#ixzz1FYXvHtZc

[Democrats_win]

1. The Supreme Joke gets so many things wrong, why couldn't they get this "wrong" too?

Yeah, I know the ruling is ok, but the supreme joke so often wrongly rules for corporations and false religion, why couldn't they for once, make the "wrong" ruling in favor of the people of the United States?

It is truly disgusting that these false religion animals protest at anyone's funeral. People should in fact have the right to die in peace. There should be a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to have a funeral in peace. There is no question that we should protect people from this type of protest. Human decency demands it. You can go as far back as ancient Greece to see why a proper burial is important. They gave us the play Antigone. The issue in that play was Antigone's right to bury her brother. The king forbade anyone from burying him but their nature demanded that he be buried. Antigone obeyed the laws of nature. It was truly a tragic play because everyone eventually dies as a result of this ruling. What will all of this bring to America?

Who's up for protesting at Fred Phelps funeral? In the land of the supreme joke, that's what we've been reduced to. Disgusting!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigone

[BridgeTheGap]

2. If their church actually has a building, it should be picketed every Sunday or whenver they meet.

They need some of their own "bad taste" medicine!