The Supreme Court agreed today to hear a freedom of speech case involving Fred Phelps.
Phelps holds anti-gay protests at military funerals of soldiers killed in war with signs that read “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
The father of one soldier sued after Phelps protested at his son’s funeral. He was awarded $10 million. On appeal, the damages were cut in half and then vacated by the U.S. Court of Appeals. The three-member court ruled that the signs could not be easily read by people attending the funeral and Phelps free-speech rights gave him the right to protest, no matter how distasteful his message.
Phelps protested here last month because a former Canadian minister responsible for appointing two of the judges who ruled that Canada must legalize same-sex marriage was speaking to the Jewish Federation of Dallas. In the past, they have protested at Cathedral of Hope and Congregation Beth El Binah.
4 Comments
Fred Phelps, as loathsome as you may think he and his family are, do have the right to express themselves. And we should allow them to. Their lies, hatred and bigotry should be out there for everyone to see.
What they really want is attention-the more negative the better. They want you to be disgusted, to hate them, to treat them like the scum they are. Then they can be reassured how right they are, and will continue to spread their lies. Want to stop the Phelps? Don’t give them an audience. Let them die of inattention, and wither away.
“thank god for dead soldiers”
sounds like a religious call to action
is that covered under Am#1?
Exactly right. Before their recent visit to Dallas, I spoke to Gary Weinstein, CEO of the Jewish Federation. They were in a little bit of a panic over the announced visit. I told him of some of our experiences with him here and said the best strategy was to ignore him. Gary didn’t even understand the reason for Phelpsvisit before we spoke. If Phelps ever showed up, he got no publicity and went away.
no bull phelps has the cross hairs on him because i know if he showed up at one of my guys funerals he wouldnt be walking a way with a beating heart i promise you that one!!!