The Constitution prevails! As low and despicable as the Westboro Baptist Church members are for picketing military funerals with their “God Hates Fags” messages, the Constitution gives them unabridged right to do so.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects a fringe religious group that protested at the funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.
The court, on an 8-1 vote, ruled that the soldier’s father couldn’t sue Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., for celebrating his son’s death with vulgar funeral pickets and an online attack.
The case was a test of how far the First Amendment goes in protecting offensive speech.
“As a nation we have chosen…to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate,” Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court. “That choice requires that we shield Westboro from tort liability for its picketing in this case.”
As long as there is a Constitution, assholes will have the right to be assholes. And as long as there are assholes, there will be Patriot Guards to drown them out. If America wants to stop Westboro and its ilk, they need to enact mealy-mouthed hate-speech laws like we have here in Canada or Europe, which are weak and undefined. Who can decide what does or does not cause offense? I find most advertising offensive because it demeans men – should it be against the law? What about people who chew with their mouths open? Let’s BURN them! Anything can and will cause offense, but there is nothing – nothing – more offensive than a loss of personal rights and freedoms.
Like it or not, all is as it should be.
I have to drive past these douche canoes every weekend (often more frequently), and though they irritate me to no end, I have to agree with the Supremes on this one. Don’t you hate it when you agree with dipshits?
I have always thought the opposite to you, I find advertising demeaning to women. On the asshole thing no one can pass enough laws to stop them from being assholes.
What these people are doing is very disturbing, but I think I’m more disturbed with Alito dissenting and that it wasn’t 9-0.
In Oklahoma, we require them to be five hundred feet away from the funeral, that’s still close enough to make their pitch but far enough to give the family privacy. I think that’s reasonable. We need the right to protest be protected even if the only ones that get anything out of it are the left wingers and nut cases. One of these days someone might notice that conservatives protest too.
Bobert, we’d best hope that no one notices our conservative protests, or then – and only then – will the 1st Amendment be outlawed.
RG
You have got a valid point RG.
I don’t believe that God hates homoseuals as people, but He certainly hates their “lifestyle.”