Sunday, September 19, 2010

As It Stands: Snyder v. Phelps: a case of free speech or harassment?

By Dave Stancliff/For the Times-Standard

Posted: 09/19/2010 01:27:05 AM PDT

First Amendment

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

Put yourself in Albert Snyder's place for a moment. Your son died while serving his country and you're holding his funeral. During the solemn ceremony a group of people gather nearby with signs. They are chanting. Then you see the first sign, “Thank God For Dead Soldiers.”

In that grief-stricken moment you hear them chant, “God hates Fags! Semper Fag! America is doomed!” Perhaps most disturbing is the sheer blind hatred coming from this church group.

The leader of the Westboro church, Fred Phelps, targeted Snyder's son, Matthew Snyder, to gain national media attention. Phelps didn't know Matthew Snyder. It didn't matter to him that Matthew wasn't homosexual.

Phelps wanted to make the point he's against the military's “don't ask, don't tell” policy that allows gays and lesbians to serve -- as long as their sexual orientation remains secret. His stated mission in life was to warn people about the perils of sinful conduct (being homosexual). He claimed this military policy was destroying the nation.

Albert Snyder suffered as only a father can on that horrible day. He didn't want other parents of military sons and daughters to suffer more than necessary when they had to bury a child. They did not deserve to have hate-spewing extremists shatter the sanctity of the ceremony.

The only way to stop it, Snyder decided, was to take Fred Phelps and his congregation to court. He sued Phelps and primary demonstrators for the distress he had suffered from their picketing, and a web video they made, recording the protest.

 The video on the Westboro church website was posted shortly after his son's funeral. It was a disgusting, hate-filled pack of lies, titled “The burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder,” and claimed Albert Snyder and his ex-wife had “taught Matthew to defy his creator” and “raised him for the devil.”

Snyder won a $5 million verdict in 2007, but a federal appeals court overturned the judgment last year. The judges said Phelps' protest was protected under the First Amendment.

The case of Snyder v. Phelps will go before the Supreme Court on Oct. 6. At stake is a crucial First Amendment challenge set against a backdrop of war deaths and family suffering.

Phelps' daughter, Margie Phelps, is the group's lawyer, and she contends the congregation engaged in free speech on a public right-of-way about issues of vital public interest.

In my opinion, this sick church and its 60 members shouldn't be allowed to harass private funerals. They scan the newspapers every day looking for another military funeral to crash. Phelps claims the church is “acting out of love for God, the Bible, and their fellow citizens.” I'm not sure what God and what Bible he's referring to, as the Christian Bible abhors acts of hatred like his.

For Albert Snyder, the case is not about speech rights. It's about harassment, plain and simple. Many federal and state officials agree. I think common sense is needed here. Why should anyone be allowed to hijack a private funeral as a vehicle for expression of their hate?

There are free speech advocates and organizations like the ACLU that say a conviction of Phelps would have a chilling effect on the First Amendment.

As a journalist, I respect the First Amendment but as a veteran, I also respect the grief of military parents burying their children. That should be a private affair. What this church is doing is wrong.

Now it's up to the judges in the Supreme Court. Will they decide Phelps and followers have abused the First Amendment? Or will another decision be made? Washington lawyer Walter Dellinger, speaking on behalf of Senate leaders, told the high court the case is not about constitutional rights but about personal harassment.

As it stands, I never thought I'd see the day when private funerals for our military dead would become national platforms for a hate group that advocates death for homosexuals

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