ACLU and Westboro Hate Cult Challenge Missouri Protest Ban
Hat Tip : StoptheACLU
by Jay on 07-22-06 @ 6:15 pm
Filed under ACLU, War On Terror, News
Once again we come to the debate over whether we should limit speech that infringes upon the rights of others. I have expressed how I feel about this determined hate cult before, so suffice it to say I think they are ignorant and filled with hate. They are deranged cultists. They think that dead soldiers in a war against terror is punishment from God for America tolerating gays. Their ignorance infringes upon the rights of these fallen heroes’ family and friends to peacefully assemble and mourn their loved ones. As much as I hate what they say, I do think they have the right to say it. However, since it infringes upon the rights of others I have no problem putting limits on when and where they may do so.
Here’s the latest story on two unhinged groups teaming together.
A Kansas church group that routinely protests at military funerals across the country filed a suit in federal court Friday, claiming the Missouri law banning such pickets infringed on the members’ religious freedoms and right to free speech.
Missouri’s law bans picketing and protests “in front of or about” any church, cemetery or funeral establishment from an hour before a funeral begins until an hour after it ends. A number of other state laws and a federal law, signed in May by President Bush, bar such protests within a certain distance from a cemetery or funeral.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jefferson City. It will test lawmakers’ ability to target the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church, constitutional scholars say.
“I told the nation as each state went after these laws that if the day came that they got in our way, that we would sue them,” said Phelps’ daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, the lead plaintiff and a spokeswoman for the Topeka-based church. “At this hour, the wrath of God is pouring out on this country.”
The church claims God is allowing soldiers, coal miners and others to be killed because the United States tolerates homosexuals. Westboro Baptist has outraged mourning communities across the U.S. by showing up at soldiers’ funerals with signs that read “God Hates Fags.”
In the lawsuit, the ACLU claims the wording of Missouri’s ban, which restricts protests “about” any funeral establishment, seeks to limit the group’s free speech based on the content of its message.
Funny, seems to me Phelps-Roper has climbed into bed with the enemy she so vehemently protests against. This truly does expose who and what they are and what they represent.
by Jay on 07-22-06 @ 6:15 pm
Filed under ACLU, War On Terror, News
Once again we come to the debate over whether we should limit speech that infringes upon the rights of others. I have expressed how I feel about this determined hate cult before, so suffice it to say I think they are ignorant and filled with hate. They are deranged cultists. They think that dead soldiers in a war against terror is punishment from God for America tolerating gays. Their ignorance infringes upon the rights of these fallen heroes’ family and friends to peacefully assemble and mourn their loved ones. As much as I hate what they say, I do think they have the right to say it. However, since it infringes upon the rights of others I have no problem putting limits on when and where they may do so.
Here’s the latest story on two unhinged groups teaming together.
A Kansas church group that routinely protests at military funerals across the country filed a suit in federal court Friday, claiming the Missouri law banning such pickets infringed on the members’ religious freedoms and right to free speech.
Missouri’s law bans picketing and protests “in front of or about” any church, cemetery or funeral establishment from an hour before a funeral begins until an hour after it ends. A number of other state laws and a federal law, signed in May by President Bush, bar such protests within a certain distance from a cemetery or funeral.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Jefferson City. It will test lawmakers’ ability to target the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church, constitutional scholars say.
“I told the nation as each state went after these laws that if the day came that they got in our way, that we would sue them,” said Phelps’ daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, the lead plaintiff and a spokeswoman for the Topeka-based church. “At this hour, the wrath of God is pouring out on this country.”
The church claims God is allowing soldiers, coal miners and others to be killed because the United States tolerates homosexuals. Westboro Baptist has outraged mourning communities across the U.S. by showing up at soldiers’ funerals with signs that read “God Hates Fags.”
In the lawsuit, the ACLU claims the wording of Missouri’s ban, which restricts protests “about” any funeral establishment, seeks to limit the group’s free speech based on the content of its message.
Funny, seems to me Phelps-Roper has climbed into bed with the enemy she so vehemently protests against. This truly does expose who and what they are and what they represent.
posted by Gary | 4:59 PM
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