Breaking: Supreme Court Upholds The Right Of Westboro "Church" To Protest At Funerals

I can't say I'm surprised. Freaks have First Amendment rights too it seems.

The justices by a 8-1 vote on Wednesday said members of the Westboro Baptist Church had a right to promote what they call a broad-based message on public matters such as wars.

The father of a fallen Marine had sued the small church, saying those protests amounted to targeted harassment and an intentional infliction of emotional distress.

"Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and– as it did here– inflict great pain," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote. "On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker."

Here's the pdf of the decision. Alito was the dissenter. A case where you get Thomas, Scalia and Roberts agreeing with the liberals is pretty much a no brainer. Emotionally, yeah, you want to stick it to the freaks but when you step back, the implications if the outcome had gone the other way could have been pretty ugly.

Does the Westboro "Church" actually have a building or are they simply a traveling freak show with no base? Maybe it's time to take their brand of "political action" to them and make their lives a living hell for awhile. Why just limit it to counter protesting them? Why not take it to the bastards where they "worship" or maybe even live? It's all protected speech, right? Goose, gander, etc.

Wherever these bastards show up people from the community generally turn out to counter protest and shield the families from having to see them. In addition to honoring the fallen even when Westboro doesn't show up, the Patriot Guard Riders do a great job in countering the freaks. Kudos to them and all who stand with the fallen and their families.

posted by DrewM. at 10:41 AM

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