THE SHOT — The scene outside the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., where Snyder v. Phelps is underway. [photo via]
the shot
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PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
[img]http://thelongestlistofthelongeststuffatthelongestdomainnameatlonglast.com/images3/monster.jpg[/img]
READY, AIM,………..
Diz
Omg, this would be the perfect chance, with all of them in one place. A blight on the country could disappear at once.
To be honest, I hope they win this case. I was all for them losing until I realized that the only reason this is happening is because they targeted a military funeral. None of these people cared when they were picketing Matthew Shepards funeral or any of the funerals that were ruined.
There’s alot worse out there than a cult that no one takes seriously.
Dawson
Isn’t there really three question being asked to our community:
1) How much do we truly value free speech?
2) Is free speech truly free? (i.e. you can’t yell fire in a theatre)
3) What is the cost to free speech? (i.e. hate crimes)
Soupy
As much as I loathe their actions, I do think it begins to blur the lines of freedom of speech. And if we start prosecuting all the stupid, hateful people, the courts will be full.
That said, I would have no problem facing an assault charge for punching one of those protestors if I was attending the funeral.
B
No. 2 · Diz wrote, “To be honest, I hope they win this case. I was all for them losing until I realized that the only reason this is happening is because they targeted a military funeral.”
That it was a military funeral is a coincidence – one deceased individual’s father decided to sue and all the others didn’t.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/10/06/national/w000544D71.DTL has more of the details: based on questions raised by the court, it seems many justices are
personally sympathetic to the family of the deceased, but will
have to decide if they can rule in the family’s favor given the
1st Amendment.
There’s a legitimate interest in protecting the expression of unpopular ideas (for example, someone living in Mississippi in 1820 saying that slavery was wrong or someone in 1965 saying that gays deserved equal rights), but there’s also a legitimate interest in protecting individuals from harassment, and you don’t want dubious claims of harassment to be used as an excuse to ban ideas that are merely unpopular. The question the court will have to decide is whether we can protect freedom of speech while still giving the Phelps clan what they deserve – a multi-million dollar fine (even if we may fantasize about the use of oversized trucks as in No. 1 above).
Mike
It will be a big surprise if they come back with anything other than they have the right to do it; as despicable as their actions are. The old man is very old. Is it reasonable to think that once the head hate monger is gone that the rest of will stop?
Soupy
I think that the plaintiff would win a large settlement in a civil action.
PLAYS WELL WITH OTHERS
The problem with this inbred bunch of savage scumbags is that as soon as one of their evil spawn comes of age, they all go to law school. Most of the adult members of the family are lawyers. Unfortunately they are the scum of the earth but they are not stupid. By having an in house legal team they can file endless motions and appeals without having to consider the cost of attorney fees. Matthew Snyders father has basically been bankrupt by this saga…………
Another example of just how savage these scumbags are. They have been battling for years for the “right” to errect a “Matthew Sheppard in hell” statue in the Sheppard family hometown. They have had drawings and schematics drawn up which they parade about during their motions filed. This way even though they haven’t yet been able to errect the statue, the image of it is out there. They are beyond sick and reprehensive. I am 100% certain that karma has to take care of those so very evil. I am certian that Satan has a very special corner of hell reserved for these savages where the will immmediatley be usherd to for eternal damnation as soon as they enter the gates of hell……..
B
No. 6 · Mike wrote, “It will be a big surprise if they come back with anything other than they have the right to do it; as despicable as their actions are. The old man is very old. Is it reasonable to think that once the head hate monger is gone that the rest of will stop?”
The rest won’t stop, at least not immediately. Aside from the obvious brainwashing, their “business model” (cynical interpetation) seems to be to sue anyone who tries to step on them. They need people to step on them so they can sue, and to get people to step on them, they have to behave outrageously.
The current Supreme Court case is a good example – they got awarded something like $15K for legal expenses for a Supreme Court appeal. Instead of hiring an independent attorney, they hired themselves (a lot of the Phelps people have gone to law school). People were nice enough to help the Snyder family by covering that expense, but the money still went to Phelps.
Michael
You hear about church van/bus accidents happening quite often, resulting in deaths (unfortunately). However, having said that, why can’t the Phelp’s caravan blow out a tire, start fishtailing, then they slam into a solid concrete barrier, flip over seven times, and then the van catches on fire…they all slowly burn in “hell” until rescue comes, except it’s too late. They travel a lot, this is bound to happen. Karma’s no joke.
Baxter
They’re terrible, crazy people, but terrible, crazy people have a right to free speech too. And there’s no right to not be offended by what terrible, crazy people say.
Daez
@Dawson: The real question being asked is rather freedom of speech should be valued when a captive audience is being forced to listen. I think the very ideal of free speech was never meant to trump the ability of someone else to not have to listen to that free speech.
declanto
@Baxter: They have no right to invade an intimate and final act of farewell to a beloved child. They have no right to vilify another’s faith and call their house of worship a “dog kennel”. They have no right to attack a member of the community at the most vulnerable episodes of life, namely grief for the loss of a loved one. The sanctity of the funeral rite predates law. These despicable excuses of humanity are beyond the pale of community. They’re pariah. Let Justice be done. I wish them all social and economic ruin, and a lingering, excruciatingly painful, disfiguring, incurable disease. Then they can all rot in hell forever.