Westboro Baptist Church fined $11 million

[Rex Kickass]

I'm guessing though that where they protested was a legal distance away. Being that it was across the street and not directly in the cemetery or on its grounds.

 

The WBC made comments about the deceased on their website that were grossly offensive and that was part of the suit.

[Soxbadger]

Jenks,

 

I understand that, but I thought they were across the street.

 

From my first post:

 

Its clear they were not on private property, because once your on private land you no longer can use the first amendment as a shield, because first amendment only prevents govt action, not private action. Therefore it had to be public land otherwise they would have just been thrown out and arrested when they did it.

 

In the clinic/hospital case you are saying that they were inside. A comparable fact scenario would be protesters outside of a hospital, across the street.

 

And that most likely would be constitutionally protected.

 

[EvilMonkey]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rq2ztTEp5k

 

The Reverend in all his hysterical glory.

[LowerCaseRepublican]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rq2ztTEp5k

 

The Reverend in all his hysterical glory.

"Hysterical nincompoop" - Hey Phelps, it's pot calling the kettle black.

 

As for the free speech issue, as much as I think that Phelps and Co.'s statements are reprehensible (I've actually had the opportunity to see it first hand when they protested a funeral in town -- and they got a very slow passing middle finger from moi), I think that they are legally able to do this sort of stuff. If the 1st Amendment can protect people like that, then it sure as hell can protect me.

 

And I know that people don't like MM but this one is pretty good when he and a group take on the Phelps crowd.

 

Edited November 4, 2007 by LowerCaseRepublican

[Texsox]

QUOTE(Alpha Dog @ Nov 3, 2007 -> 11:08 PM) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Rq2ztTEp5k

 

The Reverend in all his hysterical glory.

"Hysterical nincompoop" - Hey Phelps, it's pot calling the kettle black.

 

As for the free speech issue, as much as I think that Phelps and Co.'s statements are reprehensible (I've actually had the opportunity to see it first hand when they protested a funeral in town -- and they got a very slow passing middle finger from moi), I think that they are legally able to do this sort of stuff. If the 1st Amendment can protect people like that, then it sure as hell can protect me.

 

And I know that people don't like MM but this one is pretty good when he and a group take on the Phelps crowd.

 

Excellent.

 

 

 

[southsider2k5]

One thing I have never seen mentioned before... Phelps's political backround. One thing I had never seen before also was Al Gore's position, at least at the time, on gay rights. Regardless the guy is a nutjob. From wiki...

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fred_Phelps#Democratic_Party

 

Democratic Party

Phelps has run in various Kansas Democratic Party primaries five times, but has never won. These included races for governor in 1990, 1994, and 1998, receiving about 15% of the vote in 1998.[34] In the 1992 Democratic Party primary for U.S. Senate, Phelps received 31% of the vote [35] Phelps ran for mayor of Topeka in 1993 [36] and 1997. [37]

 

 

Support for Al Gore

Phelps supported Al Gore in the 1988 Democratic Party primary election.[38] In his 1984 Senate race, Gore opposed a "gay bill of rights" and stated that homosexuality was not something that "society should affirm".[39] Phelps has stated that he supported Gore because of these earlier comments.[40] According to Phelps, members of the Westboro Baptist Church helped run Gore's 1988 campaign in Kansas. Phelps' son, Fred Phelps Jr., hosted a Gore fundraiser, which Al and Tipper Gore attended, at his home in Topeka.[10][40] Fred Phelps, Jr. served as a Gore delegate to the 1988 Democratic National Convention.[40][41] Gore spokesman Dag Vega declined to comment; "We are not dignifying those stories with a response."[42]

 

 

Opposition to Al Gore and Bill Clinton

During the 1992 presidential campaign, Phelps protested Hillary Clinton during a campaign speech in support of the Clinton-Gore ticket at the University of Kansas on October 14, 1992. In Bill Clinton's second presidential campaign, Phelps and the Westboro church also opposed Clinton and Gore because of the administration's support for gay rights. The entire Westboro congregation picketed a 1997 inaugural ball[43], denouncing Gore as a "famous f** pimp."[44] In 1998, Westboro picketed the funeral of Gore's father, screaming vulgarities at Gore and telling him, "your dad's in Hell."[44]

 

In the aftermath of the election, in an incident that would be repeated years later when Phelps circulated a petition to outlaw homosexual work protection, many of the Kansas Democrats who had cast votes for Phelps came forward to express their distaste for him. They said that Phelps had lied about his intentions to numerous constituents, using double-talk and fuzzy language to confuse them; neglected to mention his stances on race, religion, and homosexuality, and campaigned mainly on the platform of a "good ol' boy" Southern gentleman and retired lawyer unfairly prosecuted by the system.[45]

 

 

Fidel Castro

Phelps has repeatedly championed Fidel Castro for Castro's stance against homosexuality; in 1998 Harper's magazine published a letter Phelps sent to Castro in which he praised Castro and lambasted the U.S. In 2004, when a pro-homosexual Cuban refugee announced plans to travel to Cuba, Phelps sent another letter to Castro "warning" him of the man's plans and requesting travel visas for a group of WBC congregants so that they could follow the refugee around Havana with signs bearing anti-U.S. and anti-homosexual slogans.

 

 

Saddam Hussein

In 2003, before the fall of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War, Phelps wrote Hussein a letter praising his regime for being, in his opinion, "the only Muslim state that allows the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to be freely and openly preached on the streets."[46] Furthermore, he stated that he would like to send a delegation to Baghdad to "preach the Gospel" for one week. Hussein granted permission, and a group of WBC congregants traveled to Iraq to protest against the U.S. The WBC members stood on the streets of Baghdad holding signs condemning Bill and Hillary Clinton and anal sex.[47] After Saddam was hanged, Phelps released a video commentary that stated that both Saddam Hussein and Gerald Ford (who had died the same week) were now in Hell.