CINCINNATI, Aug. 22, 2008
Court Backs Ohio Ban On Funeral Pickets
Upholds Blocking Protests Within 300 Feet Of Burial Service, A Loss For Anti-Gay Church
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Westboro Baptist church member Gabriel Phelps-Roper, 10, and his sister Grace Phelps-Roper, 13, both of Topeka, Kan., protest at the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, who was killed in Iraq, on March 10, 2006. "Thank God for IEDs," read one sign. (AP)
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It's a loss for the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church, whose members are often seen at military funerals claiming the deaths of U.S. troops overseas are part of God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.
Friday's ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a portion of a lower court's ruling on the law, which calls for a 300-foot buffer zone around a cemetery, funeral home, or place of worship.
In 2006 the Ohio legislature amended a state law prohibiting protests at funerals which had been on the books since 1957, establishing the 300-foot zone and expanding the definition of protests to include "any action that is disruptive or undertaken to disrupt or disturb a funeral or burial service or a funeral procession."
Plaintiff Shirley L. Phelps-Roper, an attorney and daughter of church leader Fred Phelps, had claimed that the Ohio restrictions contradicted the First Amendment, being overbroad regulations of speech as well as a criminalization of speech.
She also said the Ohio law effectively denied members the opportunity to preach the message of their church - that God is punishing America for the sin of homosexuality by killing Americans, from soldiers and mine workers to Amish school girls.
Against arguments that people cannot avoid the intrusions upon their privacy imposed by such protests without sacrificing their right to mourn, Phelps-Rogers had responded that attendance at a burial service is voluntary and that attendees could merely "avert their eyes."
The U.S. District Court had split in its original decision, finding part of the Funeral Procession Provision to be unconstitutionally overbroad.
However, the appeals court held that attendance at a funeral or burial service cannot be dismissed as nothing more than a “voluntary” activity.
"As Respondents assert, 'deep tradition and social obligation, quite apart from the emotional support the grieving require,' compel individuals to attend a funeral or burial service. Furthermore, if individuals 'want to take part in an event memorializing the deceased, they must go to the place designated for the memorial event.' Friends and family of the deceased should not be expected to opt-out from attending their loved one’s funeral or burial service. …The appeals court also said there was no merit to Phelps-Rogers' contention that the Funeral Protest Provision leaves church members without ample alternative channels of communication: "As Respondents argue, Phelps-Roper has an 'international audience with her website, where her message is seen by millions' and she has appeared on national radio and television."
"Accordingly, we agree with the district court’s conclusion that Ohio has an important interest in the protection of funeral attendees, because a deceased’s survivors have a privacy right 'in the character and memory of the deceased.'"
Last October, a federal jury returned a verdict against the Westboro Baptist Church, awarding nearly $11 million in compensatory and punitive damages to the father of a Marine killed in Iraq after church members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral.
As Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder was laid to rest, church members carried signs reading "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags." There were also posters depicting stick figures engaged in acts of sodomy. The church also posted material about Lance Cpl. Snyder, attacking his famiily and their Catholicism, on their Web site, godhatesamerica.com.
Jurors were instructed that, to find for the plaintiff, they would have to find the church's conduct an extreme, outrageous, and intentional infliction of emotional distress "highly offensive to a reasonable person.
Attorney Craig Trebilcock had urged jurors to determine an amount "that says, 'Don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your circus of hate to Maryland again.'"
In February a federal district judge reduced the jury's award to $5 million.
© MMVIII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 57 CommentsPosted by messiahx4eve
Ditto!
Can''t they be charged with child endangerment or something? How about Contributing to the Delinquency of a Minor?
It''s bad enough that Phelps chooses to spread hate and risk being beat up, but I''d kill him myself just to keep the kids from learing to hate.
PLEASE, y''all, somebody has got to stop them for the sake of the children.
Thank You Patriot Guard for what you do, I have been at several funerals for our Fallen HEROES and your prescence there was inspirational.
The Patriot Guard mission is to attend the funeral services of fallen American heroes as invited guests of the family. Each mission has two basic objectives.
1. Show our sincere respect for our fallen heroes, their families, and their communities.
2. Shield the mourning family and friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors.
We accomplish the latter through strictly legal and non-violent means.
PatriotGuard.org
Westboro Baptist Church is nothing more than a circus of hate.
We need to unite ourselves against this craziness, this sickness they are trying to spread. Support the Patriot Guard Riders - they are military veterans and other concerned citizens organized to prevent soldiers'' funerals from being ruined by the Phelps''s evil.
The Patriot Guard Riders describe themselves like this:
A national organization of motorcycle enthusiasts created to oppose the Westboro Baptist Church, who attend funerals to honor fallen US military personnel.
One question, isn''t "atheist churches" an Oxymoron? If not, please enlighten me.
Regards
Posted by messiahx4eve at 10:01 PM : Aug 24, 2008
I never mentioned what type of religion I was referring to because I was using the same "All inclusive brush" that others use but in a positive context. Go read the Christian New Testament and discover that Jesus himself called "organized religion" a "Whited sepulcher". That was his sole purpose, to make GOD reachable by the common man, to give GOD back to the people that the organized church had stolen for themselves. But so many lump him in with the thieves of the organized church that his sacrifice is ignored and hidden. That is the biggest shame of mankind that I know of.
Regards,
Posted by Nancy_Naive at 09:23 AM : Aug 24, 2008
Yes, everybody seems to take note of that. It would be nice to see non-religious take note of the good in religion.
Regards
Who are they to preach? It''s so ridiculous.
If the bible said we should keep black people as slaves, they would go along with that.
"It''s in the Holy Bible. It''s the truth. God''s word!"
I am surprised that some of the bereaved family have not set upon these vermin and inflicted serious or fatal bodily injury. It''s going to happen one of these days--and bystanders will rejoice!
LOL!!! ONLY ONE in a THOUSAND responders agree with Fred''''s message of hate? Not even his fellow Christians support him.
I''ve got good news for you; 0.01% is 1 in 10,000, so he''s 10 times more irrelevant than you give him credit for.
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