High court rules for military funeral protesters

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount anti-gay protests outside military funerals, despite the pain they cause grieving families.

Church members believe God is killing all American soldiers because the country tolerates homosexuals, reports CBS News chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford.

The court voted 8-1 in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

Chief Justice John Roberts wrote the opinion for the court. Justice Samuel Alito dissented.

The justices said the speech was protected because the protests were on a matter of public concern, on public property and conducted in a peaceful manner, CBS News chief legal analyst Jan Crawford reports.

"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. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker," Roberts said. "As a nation we have chosen a different course -- to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."

Justice Alito, who authored the sole dissent, insisted the funeral protests did not deserve constitutional protection, Crawford reports.

"Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case," he said.

Jan Crawford on Alito's Dissent

Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the United States for burial. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church, who have picketed military funerals for several years, decided to protest outside the Westminster, Md., church where his funeral was to be held.

The Rev. Fred Phelps and his family members who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church have picketed many military funerals in their quest to draw attention to their incendiary view that U.S. deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

They showed up with their usual signs, including "Thank God for dead soldiers," "You're Going to Hell," "God Hates the USA/Thank God for 9/11," and one that combined the U.S. Marine Corps motto, Semper Fi, with a slur against gay men.

The church members drew counter-demonstrators, as well as media coverage and a heavy police presence to maintain order. The result was a spectacle that led to altering the route of the funeral procession.

Several weeks later, Albert Snyder was surfing the Internet for tributes to his son from other soldiers and strangers when he came upon a poem on the church's website that attacked Matthew's parents for the way they brought up their son.

Katie Couric's interview with Albert Snyder

Soon after, Snyder filed a lawsuit accusing the Phelpses of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. He won $11 million at trial, later reduced by a judge to $5 million.

The federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict and said the Constitution shielded the church members from liability.

Forty-eight states, 42 U.S. senators and veterans groups sided with Snyder, asking the court to shield funerals from the Phelps family's "psychological terrorism."

While distancing themselves from the church's message, media organizations, including The Associated Press, urged the court to side with the Phelps family because of concerns that a victory for Snyder could erode speech rights.

Roberts described the court's holding as narrow, and in a separate opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer suggested in other circumstances, governments would not be "powerless to provide private individuals with necessary protection."

But in this case, Breyer said, it would be wrong to "punish Westboro for seeking to communicate its views on matters of public concern."

Margie Phelps, a daughter of the minister and a lawyer who argued the case at the Supreme Court, said she expected the outcome. "The only surprise is that Justice Alito did not feel compelled to follow his oath," Phelps said. "We read the law. We follow the law. The only way for a different ruling is to shred the First Amendment."

Phelps told CBS News that the church would continue to picket funerals and "tell this nation: obey or perish."

"The entire United States military has tried to shut up this little church but at the end of the day, thank God for dead soldiers," she said.

Snyder thinks that someone will get hurt if the protests continue.

"When the government won't do anything about it, and the courts give us no remedy, then people are going to start taking matters into their own hands. And believe me someone is going to get hurt," Snyder told CBS News anchor Katie Couric. "And when the blood starts flowing, let it be on the Supreme Court Justices' hands."

[amandam427]

How do you think the United States came to be??...through WAR! Yes, war is devastating..however, it is necessary (opening any history book would tell you that). We would not have freedom AKA: United States of America if there was not a war ...to fight for it. So, all anti war protesters who live in the US are hypocrites because if you do not believe in war you should not live in a country that was formed through it! The military funeral protesters are saying that God is killing soldiers because of the "nation's tolerance of homosexuality". Here's a little fact you hypocrites might want to take into consideration: YOU LIVE IN A COUNTRY THAT YOU SAY "TOLERATES HOMOSEXUALITY". How is it that you're against our military for serving this country&and yet, you LIVE in this country???? No one is forcing you to stay in the US..please feel free to LEAVE if you do not agree with what is going on in it. Not only are you hypocrites..you're inexcusably inconsiderate! A family is mourning the loss of a child (which as a mother, my whole life would be over) and you're saying "God loves dead soldiers"??? How can you live with yourself (especially if you have children of your own)&that is the most disgusting thing I have ever seen! How would you like it if your child(the person you love more than anything on this earth) was killed and now you have to watch people with signs saying "God hates your son..He struck your son down" because they don't agree with your views? Think about that the next time you decide to pick up a sign!!!

[holalanemeir]

"Free Speech Zones?" Oh, that's right-that is only Constitutional when you protest against conservatives with billboards, but okay if you carry loaded glocks to Democratic Congressional town hall meetings.

[whiteguysrule]

There is a fire in the theater.

[PJsHD]

I am in full support of the right to free speech& however, I would add the following conditions &..
Require the full name and personal address and phone number of the organizer be made publically available.
Require the full name and personal address and phone number of each participant be made publically available.
Those who refuse to submit this personal information will be prohibited from participating or taken to jail.
This will allow others to also use their First Amendment Rights to express their opinions when tragedy affects the protester's family.
It is too easy to hide behind the organization's face; list their name, address and phone number of the individuals and see how many attend. Fair is fair.

[dzandstra]

I TRUELY believe in our Constitution, and the first amendment right that protects free speech, BUT:
That bunch of SUPREME IDIOTS has in the past made it clear that HATE SPEECH is not protected. Try doing what this "church" does in a gathering of blacks, homosexuals, Muslims, or any protected group, and you get thrown in jail. Apparently TRUE HEROS (not the media types) are not protected by the SUPREME IDIOTS that benefit from the ultimate sacrifice of our military heros. I belong to the Patriot Guard Riders.....which is a group that was formed to help shield families from the indignities that this bunch of "church" members (hate mongers) promotes. If you feel so moved, check out the Patriot Guard website.

[jmaaka]

I would consider myself to be a peaceful person, but if ANYONE did that picketing sh** at a military funeral of a friend/family member of mine, I would immediately walk up to the picketer of most comparable size to me and absolutely destroy their face with my fist. This is absolutely ridiculous. I'm not a christian or anything but this is a serious blow for christianity, ***

[LLF2011]

I'm beyond infuriated to hear of this ruling, and am fed up with America protecting all our rights in the wrong spectrum! THIS IS A PERFECT EXAMPLE OF WHAT TURNS ME AWAY / OFF TO THE nth DEGREE FROM RELIGION!!!!! Oh, if only I didn't love the freedom of not spending the rest of my life in jail.......! Way too many religious people are the biggest hypocrites ever! They commit sin (indulge in sinful conveniences), JUDGE OTHERS, and conduct themselves in disgraceful ways and then go to church once or twice a week to "be forgiven" of their sins and trespasses... The grieving father said it best of, "What is this country coming to?!" It is deplorable to picket at a funeral. How would they feel if the millions of us who disagree with their outrageous behavior showed up at their families'/friends' funeral picketing it, shouting/screaming & jumping for joy as the one on the news footage did???? Is there nothing sacred in this world anymore that at minimal, one would at least respect a grieving group of families and friends burying on of their own and honor their privacy and grief in such a sorrowful time? THESE PEOPLE ARE NO BETTER THAN ISLAMIC AND MUSLIM ***RADICALS*** How extremely shameful for our country! I'm officially embarrassed to be an American ~

[carnelld]

Those of you posting to this article is expressing your freedom of speech. Yet you do not want to allow
these people the same right to freedom of speech. If these people could be stifled and shut down, then anyone could be shut down, including places like this blog site. America is "freedom of speech", It is what distinguis?hes us from the rest of the world. Think about it.

[dfheffernan]

We are expressing ourselves in a proper forum. Westboro's demonstrators are not. The two are not comparable in the slightest. Preventing this kind of intrusion would not in any way, shape or form compromise free speech or our democracy. Constitutional rights are not and never have been absolute.

[DBrown1447]

The best treatment of these inbred Xian nuts is to ignore them.

[circus2]

As I understand this, it is now more than alright to say anything you
want to say no matter who it hurts. Well then I don't guess slander is
not against the law. And I assume that saying the "N" word is now ok.
Right?
I bet if someone put up signs and yelled profanity at one their son's
or daughter's funeral things would be a whole lot different.
I don't think God intended for people to use His name in a Hate rally.
God bless the soldier's family for standing up for him and what was right.

[sam.upton]

This is hate speech, pure and simple. The lawyers must have done a poor job communicating this to the court. These "protesters" are all about anti-gay hate speech, but not so many people here would be as incensed if they were protesting a gay person's funeral, so the "church" goes to funerals where the average American will be outraged so it can get the attention it craves. That having been said, it should also be hate speech to say that *anyone* somehow deserved to die for any reason. God is not ignorant and these charlatans will be awfully surprised when they get invited to a barbeque on judgement day (if one believes in such things anyway.)

[raycatcher]

I agree with sam.upton. Such protests are not the practice of Christianity, but a sickening perversion of it. Maybe even to respond to the protests is unwise as it gives them the attention they crave.