US Supreme Court has decided to hear the case of Snyder v Phelps – The Phelps in question is the Rev Fred Phelps, of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church
If you haven’t come across the Rev Fred Phelps of the US Westboro Baptist Church, then your life is all the better. To give you a hint, his website is called “GodHatesFags”.
Anyway, for those who do know about these despicable folk, you may be interested to know that the US Supreme Court has agreed to decide whether the father of a fallen Marine can collect damages ($5m), from the Westboro Baptist Church, who picketed his son’s funeral with vulgar placards celebrating the death of American soldiers.
The predicament of course, is around the issue of freedom of speech. What implications on this freedom would a judgement in favour of the father have?
The issue of freedom of speech is such a double edged sword as always, and Heresy Corner articulates this issue more lucidly than I’m able:-
If you have stumbled onto this blog and are not a Christian, get yourself a hot drink, pull up a comfy chair and then tuck into the following article written by one of the best in the business:- All Of Grace by Charles SpurgeonInteresting legal news from the US, where the Supreme Court has decided to hear the case of Snyder v Phelps. The Phelps in question is the Rev Fred Phelps, of the notorious Westboro Baptist Church whose USP is picketing military funerals with signs reading “God damn America”, “God Hates Fags”, and the like. Last year, you may remember, Jacqui Smith gave them some much-needed publicity by banning Phelps and other members of his family/congregation (the two are more or less the same) from Britain – after the Westies had expressed a desire to call down God’s wrath on the sinful people of Basingstoke.
Back in 2007, the Westies were sued by the father of a Marine killed in Iraq who had been offended by the sight of the placards at his son’s funeral. He told the court that he “became angry and tearful when he thought about the protest and that the memory of it had caused him to vomit.” The jury awarded him $10 million in damages for “intentionally inflicting emotional distress” – which makes you wonder about the low level of libel awards in Britain, doesn’t it? – a sum reduced by the judge to a mere five million. The Westies appealed – and won, on the grounds that they have a constitutional right to proclaim their hatred of gays, celebrities and US soldiers as loudly as they want.
