Sometimes freedom isn't popular...

[Fox McCloud]

I was really shocked by the results of this poll:

http://msnbc.polls.newsvine.com/_question/2010/04/13/4153599-where-do-you-stand-on-the-lawsuit-by-a-fallen-marines-father-against-a-church-protesting-outside-military-funerals?GT1=43001

a whopping 87.4% of respondents would agree to snuff out free speech in this occasion. Sure, I don't like the group either, but they're well within their Constitutional rights to protest at a funeral; especially if they're on public property or they have permission to be on adjacent private property.

sometimes I think people think a bit too much with their hearts.

[RileyE104]

I was really shocked by the results of this poll:

http://msnbc.polls.newsvine.com/_question/2010/04/13/4153599-where-do-you-stand-on-the-lawsuit-by-a-fallen-marines-father-against-a-church-protesting-outside-military-funerals?GT1=43001

a whopping 87.4% of respondents would agree to snuff out free speech in this occasion. Sure, I don't like the group either, but they're well within their Constitutional rights to protest at a funeral; especially if they're on public property or they have permission to be on adjacent private property.

sometimes I think people think a bit too much with their hearts.

Were they actually like up in everyone's faces at the funeral or did they have the decency to at least keep their distance??

Sure, you can say it's their freedom to be out there if it's at a public place, but I don't know if I could stand someone (let alone a whole group) being disrespectful at my dad's funeral without hurting someone.

It seems pretty pointless to me anyways that people protest at soldier's funerals.. They should be protesting at Government buildings not funerals.

[Cowlesy]

Were they actually like up in everyone's faces at the funeral or did they have the decency to at least keep their distance??

Sure, you can say it's their freedom to be out there if it's at a public place, but I don't know if I could stand someone (let alone a whole group) being disrespectful at my dad's funeral without hurting someone.

It seems pretty pointless to me anyways that people protest at soldier's funerals.. They should be protesting at Government buildings not funerals.

They were 1000ft away.

I think they have a right to say what they say, and the speech is protected.

However, I have to say I hope some bikers ambush them and kick their asses sometime.

How's that for some cognitive dissonance :)

[noxagol]

They only agree because it is something they don't like. They don't look at the bigger precedent set, that having government regulate what one person says really sets that government can regulate speach. They only look at the spot right in front of their nose and never take even one step back to see the rest of the picture and what is to come from actions now. IMO, this is a result of the nanny state, which caters to this and fosters it.

[tmosley]

Privatize the roads, then it is up to the owner of the road whether or not they can protest there.

Free markets solve so many problems.

[KCIndy]

Were they actually like up in everyone's faces at the funeral or did they have the decency to at least keep their distance??

Sure, you can say it's their freedom to be out there if it's at a public place, but I don't know if I could stand someone (let alone a whole group) being disrespectful at my dad's funeral without hurting someone.

It seems pretty pointless to me anyways that people protest at soldier's funerals.. They should be protesting at Government buildings not funerals.


The Westboro agenda actually has nothing to do with the military, the government, or foreign wars.

They're actually a bunch of weirdos who are completely hung up on an anti-homosexual fixation. All the protests are simply to draw attention to themselves.

As for the funeral in question, according to the Associated Press, the protesters were over 1,000 feet away and never even observed by the father of the fallen soldier until he saw footage of them on the TV news after the funeral:


Not everyone is on Snyder's side, even if they find Westboro's protests loathsome.

They point to the undisputed facts of the case. Westboro contacted police before its protest, which was conducted in a designated area on public land — 1,000 feet from the church where the Mass was held in Westminster, Md.

The protesters — Phelps and six family members — broke no laws. Snyder knew they were present, but he did not see their signs or hear their statements until he turned on the news at his son's wake.

Jonathan M. Turley, a George Washington University law professor, asked his constitutional law class to grapple with the case. At first, the entire class was sympathetic to Snyder. But after they dug deeper, they concluded that Westboro's speech was protected by the First Amendment.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ikyWFurOtNk9_KCCfi6GmDi8hEtgD9F1UP301

But all this is actually covered on another thread here in these forums:

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showthread.php?t=239969

[BlackTerrel]

As a Baptist myself it is embarrassing that these people call themselves Baptist. They don't represent anyone but themselves and are simply one dude and his extended inbred family.

[sevin]

Most people only want free speech for themselves, not others.