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High court rules for military funeral protesters (Westboro Nuts Win 8-1!?)
AP ^ | 03/02/2011 | n/a

Posted on 03/02/2011 7:27:39 AM PST by Pyro7480

Edited on 03/02/2011 7:31:23 AM PST by Admin Moderator. [history]

The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount attention-getting, anti-gay protests outside military funerals.


(Excerpt) Read more at hosted2.ap.org ...


TOPICS: Breaking News; Constitution/Conservatism; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: alito; scotus; supremecourt; ussupremecourt; westboro
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Alito was the lone dissenter, according to CNN.
1 posted on 03/02/2011 7:27:44 AM PST by Pyro7480
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To: Pyro7480

Unbelievable. I fear their decision on ObamaCare. OTOH, we are free to do the same at funerals for Liberals...


2 posted on 03/02/2011 7:31:45 AM PST by pabianice
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Comment #3 Removed by Moderator

To: Pyro7480

So long as these evil anti-American, anti-Christian thugs are on public property, I agree with the Supremes. The WBB thugs have the same constitutional rights as the rest of us. [My solution: use private property rights to restrict them from disturbing decent people to the maximum extent possible, otherwise tolerate them just like we tolerate those who still cheer for Obama. ]


4 posted on 03/02/2011 7:32:23 AM PST by Pollster1 (Natural born citizen of the USA, with the birth certificate to prove it)
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To: Pyro7480
The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

The father will now be liable for the "legal costs" incurred by the WBC in these court actions.

......sad day.

5 posted on 03/02/2011 7:32:54 AM PST by Roccus (POLITICIAN...............a four letter word spelled with ten letters.)
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To: pabianice
OTOH, we are free to do the same at funerals for Liberals...

Not sure I would try it unless you wanted to spend a few days in the slammer. The rules are probably different.

6 posted on 03/02/2011 7:33:39 AM PST by SLB (23rd Artillery Group, Republic of South Vietnam, Aug 1970 - Aug 1971.)
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To: Pyro7480
God Bless Alito for his vote, however, the decision was correct.

We all (atleast I hope we all know) that the Westboro nuts are democrats trying to make Christians look bad. Someone just needs to post the picture of the head of the cult with Algore.

But this goes to the whole slippery slope. If we stop protest (unless fire in a theater) then we are going to lose more rights. Then they will try to shut down FR because of "hate speech", then the tea party, ect.......

So as much as I hate and despise these democrat cultists, the Supreme Court got it right.

7 posted on 03/02/2011 7:34:47 AM PST by Dengar01 (Go Blackhawks!!! Go Bulls!!!)
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To: Pollster1
So long as these evil anti-American, anti-Christian thugs are on public property, I agree with the Supremes.

Couldn't have said it better myself. The Constitution is what it is.

8 posted on 03/02/2011 7:35:36 AM PST by End Times Sentinel (In Memory of my Dear Friend Henry Lee II)
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To: Pyro7480

The vote was 8-1. We don’t always like the rulings but this comes down to freedom of speech. It really couldn’t have gone another way.


9 posted on 03/02/2011 7:35:46 AM PST by ExtremeUnction
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To: Pollster1

I hate to say it, but I agree with you that the USSC got this one right. As long as WBB members are on public land, they have the same rights as the rest of us. I may not like what they say, but I have to agree that they have the right to say it.

That being said, the personal property idea sounds like the best way to go here. I know most people will want to resort to force to stop this bunch, but you can’t fight stupid with stupid. They’ll just drag you down to their level and beat you with experience. The better way would be to maneuver them into a position where they can do as little harm as possible and then support the families who are grieving.


10 posted on 03/02/2011 7:38:04 AM PST by paladin1_dcs
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To: Pollster1
I really liked the way it was handled in Tucson, AZ. Hundreds of anti-Westboro demonstrators stood between the Westboro crowd and the funeral. I am a Born Again, Bible believing, right wing conservative, and I am disgusted at what the Westboro crowd is doing.
11 posted on 03/02/2011 7:38:09 AM PST by wbarmy (I chose to be a sheepdog once I saw what happens to the sheep.)
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To: Pyro7480

Well, they do have the right to do that but what has kept people from doing that in the past is decency, respect and the fear of of a butt whooping by family and friends of the dead something the Westboro bunch don’t seem to have...

When ya think about it, that is only thing that prevents most folks from indiscriminately breaking any of societies taboos.


12 posted on 03/02/2011 7:38:13 AM PST by WorkerbeeCitizen (They do not wish to govern us, they wish to RULE us!)
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To: Pyro7480

Those protesters will now be even more hated. They may think they have full license now, but I bet the numbers that protest them will grow even more.

I think I understand the SC’s decision, but what if someone yells “Fire!” in a public place?


13 posted on 03/02/2011 7:39:40 AM PST by Exit148
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To: Pollster1

Yes, that is what Freedom and 1st Amendment rights is all about....we know the lefties on this court would vote not because of 1st Amendment rights, they voted because of who and what this group is doing and has done...you can bet if it’d been a conservative right wing group those lefties would have voted differently.


14 posted on 03/02/2011 7:40:49 AM PST by shield (A wise man's heart is at his RIGHT hand;but a fool's heart at his LEFT. Ecc 10:2)
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To: pabianice
“OTOH, we are free to do the same at funerals for Liberals...”

Free to do it and doing it are two different thing. I would have absolutely zero respect for anyone that would picket the funeral of anyone. Funerals are not for the dead they are for the living.
That said, I would be in favor of getting in the face of that Westboro Baptist bunch. And I mean getting really in their faces.

15 posted on 03/02/2011 7:42:54 AM PST by Tupelo (The Boudicca from Wasilla supporter)
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To: SLB

Even if the rules were the same for everyone, I still wouldn’t think it right to turn this back on them. We’re Conservatives, this is a Liberal tactic, it may seem like this would be a good way of fighting fire with fire, but the truth is that they would just ratchet up a “gotcha” game and make us out to be the villians.

There are better ways of fighting this bunch, but using their own tactics against them isn’t the way to do it.


16 posted on 03/02/2011 7:43:29 AM PST by paladin1_dcs
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To: Pyro7480

Hold a funeral that Westboro is going to protest, move it to private property. The arrest the fools for trespassing when they get well inside of the proerty line.


17 posted on 03/02/2011 7:45:43 AM PST by GraceG
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To: shield
..you can bet if it’d been a conservative right wing group those lefties would have voted differently.

Well, now the Supreme Court has set precedence with this case...let's see what happens if it does come up - that will be interesting.

18 posted on 03/02/2011 7:46:31 AM PST by libertarian27 (Ingsoc: Department of Life, Department of Liberty, Department of Happiness)
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To: Pyro7480

while i do not agree with what they were doing I do agree with the ruling.

I would have been very concerned for our future had it had another outcome.

If the court had ruled against them then the left would have used this to attack free speech that they consider anti-gay, anti-abortion, anti-leftist.


19 posted on 03/02/2011 7:48:53 AM PST by stockpirate (U-6 Total unemployed for January 2011 16.1 percent)
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To: Pyro7480

BTW- they aren’t “fundimentalist church members” the are radical left wing socialists.


20 posted on 03/02/2011 7:50:24 AM PST by stockpirate (U-6 Total unemployed for January 2011 16.1 percent)
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