Posted on 11/01/2007 7:00:16 PM PDT by TonyRo76
A fundamentalist Kansas “church” notorious for protesting at the funerals of troops killed in Iraq was ordered Wednesday to pay $10.9 million in damages to the father of a fallen Marine.
The Westboro Baptist Church believes that U.S. deaths in the Iraq war are punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality and appeared last year at the funeral for Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, bearing signs that read: "Thank God for dead soldiers" and "God hates fags.”
A nine-member federal jury found members and three leaders of Westboro – Fred Phelps and his two daughters, Phelps-Roper and Rebekah Phelps-Davis – guilty for invasion of privacy and causing emotional distress.
The jury told the church to pay $2.9 million in compensatory damages and $8 million in punitive damages to the Marine’s father, Albert Snyder.
Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict.
Craig Trebilcock, one of Snyder's lawyers later called the verdict "Judgment Day for the Westboro Baptist Church,” reported the Associated Press.
While it is still unclear whether Westboro can pay the fines, another of Snyder's lawyers, Sean Summers, said he would tirelessly seek payment of the award from what he called a “71-member cult.”
Westboro Baptist, which is not affiliated with any Baptist denomination, holds an unorthodox view on predestination, the idea that God determined at the time of one's creation whether they were bound for heaven or hell.
While the belief, stemming from the teachings of John Calvin, is also taught in mainstream churches, members of Westboro Baptist particularly emphasize God’s hatred in spreading their message.
The members of the church, made up of mainly Pastor Fred Phelps and his relatives, also believe that they must alert the condemned of their fate even though such people have no chance of going to heaven. According to past media reports, the congregation prays that all of God’s chosen people will come to this church. When the last person comes, they believe, Christ will return and the world will end.
Given their background, it is not a surprise that most members of the church seemed pleased with the ruling. The Associated Press reported that they left the court room with tight-lipped smiles.
Rev. Phelps was confident an appeal would rule in their favor.
“Oh, it will take about five minutes to get that thing reversed,” he said.
Jonathan Phelps, son of Fred Phelps Sr, said the national media attention will just give church members another platform to preach their message.
“We haven’t completed our testimony yet,” Phelps said in a 49abcnews.com report. “We have things to preach and we have things to tell.”
Earlier this year the church outraged mourning Americans when it planned to picket memorial services of the tragic Virginia Tech shooting victims.
The obscene nature of its protests have led to 31 states in America to pass legislation banning protestors from attending military funerals.
The group has maintained that the Baltimore ruling Wednesday would not affect future protests at funerals.
I really like how the author was careful to put "church" in quotation marks when describing this group of subhuman loons.
This quote sounds a little, "swishy" to me. What's going on here?
They’ll never see a dime.
This bunch of in-breds is Bill Maher’s “go to” example of devout Christians
I don't like the idea of the courts coming in and saying where people are allowed to protest or what they're allowed to say... let alone charging them $11 million when their content is deemed offensive.
Scripture says, "by their fruits, you shall know them." I believe that means this "church" is an evil cult that seeks out the misery a fallen soldier's family to...to what, exactly? Make satan smile?
I have also read that Phelps is a lib dim...any truth to that?
It’s a lawsuit cult.
That's why I'm convinced these nutbags have been liberal "plants" all along. Their purpose is to caricature and discredit real evangelical Christians in the eyes of society.
As most FReepers are well aware, the "Reverend" Phelps is also an old buddy of Algore.
Another take on this story, from The Christian Post.
Criminal laws banning protests at military funerals is one thing, but $10million awards in civil court for “causing emotional distress?” That’s a little absurd.
Phelps may be right and the ruling may be reversed on some
wacky interpretation of the 1st Amendment. As a disbarred lawyer Phelps knows how shysters think.
Who's paying this guys legal fees?
That's how you find out who's fronting his "church"
They are free to make asses of themselves all they want, but they are not free to harrass with impunity a private family’s funeral rite.
If a convicted person is unable to pay their fine, aren’t they normally incarcerated? Why should this be any dofferent?
Seems like it would be cheaper to take a piece of pipe and beat the feces out of those a-holes.
“Seems like it would be cheaper to take a piece of pipe and beat the feces out of those a-holes.”
Who says you have to choose one or the other?
Phreaky Phred has a photo of him with Al Gore and he was a big contributor of $$ to Gore's 2000 election campaign. That photo and the back up text was on FR during the 2000 campaign and when his Phreaks first started their vile activity of violating the privacy of fallen soldiers funerals.
When is someone going to investigate the LEFTY background of Fred Phelps? I think this “church” is a lefty front group whose purpose is to make Christians look like morons.
I like how you think. :’)
And the point is that the $11 million judgement will have a chilling effect on all kinds of political speech. The obvious immediate victims will be anti-abortion protesters, because abortion providers will use this case as precedent to sue them for harassment and "intentional infliction of emotional distress." But I think the consequences of this, if it isn't overturned, could be broader.
I agree with you. There should be criminal laws...with severe draconian punishment.
Ha! Good point. Never thought of it that way...
Terrific explanation! Thanks Caramelgal.
Don't the Snyder family have any rights? If this was simply a demonstration on public property against the government then I'd agree with you. But this was a deliberate attempt by the Phelps crowd to disrupt and destroy the funeral to further their message. I believe that the Snyder family has privacy rights as well. They are not public figures who have chosen to give up some of their rights to privacy, they are ordinary people who wanted to bury their son. I would hope that the Constitution provides them the same kinds of protections that Phelps claims.
And when Phelps and his crew picketed the Clinton inaugural and Gore, Sr.'s funeral that was just their way of saying "Hi, Al?"
If protesters want to demonstrate against abortions and picket clinics then there is no reason why the should have anything to fear from this decision. If they want to post the names of women who had abortions on their website then they're crossing the boundary between protest and privacy.
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