Westboro Baptist Church of Hate Versus Free Speech

After watching the news today, I thought I'd take a moment to talk about the recent jury award of nearly $11 million to the parents of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder. Corporal Snyder was killed in Iraq last year, and his parents sued Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church after members of the congregation showed up at the funeral protesting with signs that read "God Hates You" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers." The church's message is simply that God is killing soldiers to punish America for tolerating homosexual behavior.

Corporal Snyder's father, Albert Snyder, sued in U.S. District Court for invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress and was awarded punitive and compensatory damages for his claim. As morally repugnant and disgraceful as I find the actions of Phelps and his congregation to be, it is critical that we are able to put emotions aside and look at this issue for what it really is.

The case, which is now being appealed by the Westboro Baptist Church, could seriously test the limits of free speech in this country. In response to repeated protests by Phelps' crew, several states have imposed restrictions on funeral protests and the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which prohibits demonstrations within a certain distance of national cemeteries, was signed into law by President Bush.