Say What?! Church members may stage anti-gay demonstrations outside of military funerals. U.S. Supreme Court Decision (8-1)

 The Supreme Court's 8-1 decision in the controversial case Snyder v. Phelps held that the First Amendment protects the Westboro Baptist Church members who have been staging anti-gay protests at military funerals.

Albert Snyder is the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder who was killed in the line of duty on March 3, 2006 in Iraq. Snyder wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to restore a U.S. District Court's verdict that found the Kansas-based church had invaded his privacy and defamed his son when it protested outside of his son's military funeral in 2006. Visit the website that Albert Snyder set up about this suit.

 Westboro Baptist Church is led by Rev. Fred Phelps who has traveled across the country with his family for over 20 years declaring that America's acceptance of homosexuality has paved the way for the damnation of the United States. They have gotten a lot of publicity by staging these anti-gay protests outside of high-profile trials, Catholic and Jewish events, as well as military funerals making headlines in both national and international news coverage. 

In addition to staging the anti-gay demonstration outside of Marine Lance. Cpl. Matther Snyder's funeral, they later wrote about him on the Westboro website. Visit the Westboro Baptist Church official site. NOTE the URL of the Church's site - in the interest of decency I decided not spell it out here. I was rather shocked - even knowing the hateful and offensive nature of their 'protest" signs and speeches - it's supposed to a church for goodness sake.

If you're not familiar with the circumstances of the case check out the York Daily Post page covering the Syder v. Phelps trial, the appeal through the Supreme Court decision.  The article provides a concise summary and has a very helpful chart showing the time-line of the case history. 

The Wall Street Journal post High Court Rules in Favor of Funeral Protesters is a great overview and discussion of the Supreme Court's decision. 

Read the full text of the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Snyder v. Phelps  (03.02.11)

To get a sense of the issues in play and the implications of this Supreme Court ruling check out The Supreme Court justices put lawyers on the spot in Snyder v. Phelps by asking a flurry of questions trying to figure out the broader implications of the case. Jeff Frantz, York Daily Record (11.22.10)

 Read the U.S. News debate about whether the First Amendment protects protests at military funerals for an overview of the debate that comes from a more pragmatic standpoint than the debate between legal scholars.

Immerse yourself in the legal nitty-gritty leading up to the appeal to the Supreme court including supporting briefs covering a wide spectrum of legal issues and arguments. Read the original documents in the Snyder v. Phelps case, including the appeal reversing the award to Snyder and all amicus briefs.

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