You may despise their message, but the First Amendment continues to trump people’s wishes to be free of hateful speech near a funeral. Joe Harris reports: A federal judge has ruled that a Missouri law restricting protests at or near military funerals is unconstitutional. The state enacted the law in 2006 in response to protests…
Tag: Phelps
Attorney General issues statement regarding protection of military funerals
Attorney General Bill McCollum today released the following statement regarding the Snyder v. Phelps case currently before the U.S. Supreme Court: “Today, I am proud to announce that I have joined several other states in supporting the Snyder family in their U.S. Supreme Court case to protect those who attend military funerals from the kind…
Free speech vs. family privacy – murky waters
Charlie Butts writes: The U.S. Supreme Court agreed on Monday to hear a case lodged against Fred Phelps and other members of his church over protests at military funerals. Phelps’ protesters suggest soldiers are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan because God is punishing America for tolerance of the homosexual lifestyle. The high court will hear…
Free speech trumps privacy at funerals, for now
Missouri’s attempt to block members of Westboro Baptist Church, a gay-hating fundamentalist church, from protesting at military funerals in on hold. Members of the Kansas-based church picket funerals of veterans killed during the war, where they often hold up signs claiming that the soldier’s death is God’s punishment for homosexuality. Their activities are not just…