Westboro Baptist Church to 'Quadruple' Funeral Protests After Ruling
Free Speech advocates hail Supreme Court decision on military funeral displays.
March 2, 2011— -- Leaders of the controversial Westboro Baptist Church today vowed to "quadruple" the number of protests at military funerals around the country following a Supreme Court ruling that the displays are protected under the First Amendment.
"We are trying to warn you to flee the wrath of God, flee the wrath of destruction. What would be more kind than that," a fiery Margie J. Phelps, the lead legal counsel for the church and daughter of pastor Fred Phelps, told reporters. "We have not slowed down and we will not."
Phelps and other members of the Topeka, Kan., church have picketed outside many military funerals holding signs with offensive messages such as "God Hates You" and "God Hates Fags." The church believes military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God's punishment for U.S. tolerance of homosexuality and a sign the nation's destruction is imminent.
Albert Snyder, whose son Matthew was killed in Iraq in 2006, sued the Church after members loudly protested at his funeral. Snyder's suit argued that the demonstrations inflicted intentional emotional harm and should be prohibited. The Supreme Court disagreed.
"Shut up all that talk about infliction of emotional distress," Phelps said of Snyder's claim after the decision was handed down. "When you're standing there with your young child's body bits and pieces in a coffin you've been dealt some emotional distress by the Lord your God."
An eight-justice majority on the Court ruled that the protests, while hurtful, were permissible under the Constitution. One justice, Samuel Alito, dissented from the majority saying the "vicious verbal assault" imposed "great injury" to Snyder.
"He simply didn't follow his oath, he'll have to take that up with God," Phelps said of Alito. "I very much appreciate the fact that I get to be the mouth of God in this matter."
First Amendment advocates hailed the court for separating the emotionally charged nature of Westboro's message with the fundamental right to free expression.
"This is a historic first amendment case," said constitutional lawyer Cliff Sloan. "This is the kind of case that is going to have an influence for generations. It is the Supreme Court standing up and giving constitutional protection to extremely unpopular speech. It's really what the first amendment is all about."
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