The Most Hated People in America – Are Funeral Protests Protected Speech?
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Are Funeral Protests Protected Speech?
Should the Westboro Baptist Church be allowed to protest at military funerals? This argument has become a very popular and heated debate throughout the United States. Though I strongly disagree with the Westboro Baptist Church, according to the United States Constitution, their First Amendment right allows them to picket military funerals.
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution provides individuals with important personal freedoms. The First Amendment says 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. (First Amendment to the United States Constitution) Freedom of Religion keeps the government from establishing an official religion. Freedom of Speech keeps the government from making laws that stop us from saying what we think. Freedom of Assembly allows citizens to come together in public and private gatherings. It protects citizens rights to join groups for political, religious, social, or recreational purposes. The Westboro Baptist Church continues to argue that any bans on their right to protest are content based violations of their First Amendment Rights.
As a result of the Westboro Baptist Church protests, many states have passed bills to ban or regulate funeral protests. Most of the state laws have been worded carefully to avoid concerns about First Amendment Rights. The laws seek to keep demonstrators at a funeral 100 to 500 feet from the entrance and to limit the times demonstrators are allowed to protest. According to Shirley Phelps-Roper, lawyer and spokesperson for the Westboro Baptist Church, the WBC obtains the appropriate permits for all protests. She also said that the Westboro Baptist Church follows the guidelines set forth by the local authorities. Therefore, the Westboro Baptist Church is acting within its First Amendment right to assemble and protest.
Snyder v. Phelps was a case taken before the United States Supreme Court on whether the First Amendment protected protests of public protestors at a funeral against liability. The claim made by Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier killed in Iraq, stated that the Westboro Baptist Church caused intentional infliction of emotional distress. (Snyder v. Phelps) In an 8-1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church, stating that their speech related to a public issue and was assembled on a public sidewalk. The holding read; speech on a public sidewalk, about a public issue, cannot be liable for a tort of emotional distress, even if speech is found to be “outrageous”. (Snyder v. Phelps) The court noted that the Westboro Baptist Church “stayed well