Nasty is a mild word for the Rev. Fred Phelps’ angry demonstration in 2006 near the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, a U.S. Marine who was killed in a Humvee crash in Iraq. Mr. Phelps and a group of his followers waved signs saying “God hates fags,” “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “You’re going to the devil.”
Cpl. Snyder was not gay, but even if he had been, the demonstration would have deserved total condemnation. A jury awarded the fallen soldier’s father $10.9 million for intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy and civil conspiracy. The trial judge reduced the amount to $5 million. A U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the decision on First Amendment grounds. The case now is before the Supreme Court, where the Phelps church members flew in to protest with signs including “God hates Obama.”
The small Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, with a congregation mostly of Mr. Phelps’ relatives, has long sought national publicity for its denunciation of homosexuals, as well as Jews and Catholics, by demonstrating at military funerals and school events. Its website, godhatesfags.com, announces almost daily protests. It declares that “Military funerals have become orgies of idolatrous blasphemy, where they pray to the dunghill gods of Sodom and play taps to a fallen fool.”
One quirk in this case is the fact that the pastor’s daughter, Margie J. Phelps, was among the lawyers arguing the church’s case before the high court. She contended not only the right to demonstrate but also the message itself. She said, “Nation, hear this little church. If you want them to stop dying, stop sinning.”
Politicians generally supported the lower court’s judgment against the church. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and 40 other senators joined a brief supporting the marine’s father. They argued that private families should be entitled to funerals without other groups invading their privacy with the intent of upsetting them further. And 48 attorneys general also supported the judgment. Sen. Olympia Snowe and Attorney General Janet Mills did not join in briefs supporting the judgment, citing free speech concerns. Sen. Susan Collins did.
At least 40 states, including Maine, have laws limiting protests near funerals, regulating their time, place and manner. The Westboro Church group followed local police rules and a city ordinance as to where and how they could demonstrate.
In fact, the Marine’s family learned about the demonstration on television and the Internet after the funeral. This fact raises the question of whether the media should have made such a big issue out of an action by a small band of eccentrics. But that is a fact of life in this digital age, one with a constant flow of information.
The Supreme Court should follow its precedents in letting the American Nazi Party march and Hustler magazine print its trash. Regardless of the sympathy of most politicians for the victims, even contemptible speech deserves protection. That’s the price of liberty.