'GOD HATES FAGS'

If you haven't heard the news yet, the Westboro Baptist Church has won their case for protesting funerals. The ruling comes from the Supreme Court of the United States in the case Snyder v. Phelps ET AL (read the opinion here in PDF format). Only Justice Alito filed a dissenting opinion.

The Westboro Baptist Church is famous for protesting any opportunity runescape accounts they can to take advantage of grieving or upset communities. They have protested military funerals, funerals of children killed in accidents, funerals of gays and lesbians killed by gay bashing, and far more.

Their signs are recognizable by very everyone in American and plenty of others outside the United States. The multi-colored 'GOD HATES FAGS' message is inescapable and their Web Page is filled with biblical vitriol and hatred. Rev. Fred Phelps has done a amazing job of raising a relatives of hatemongers and rabid fundamentalists. They very sob when they see their children runescape power leveling standing there spouting the same bigotry as their parents.

WBC showed up in Huntsville, AL to protest the funeral of high schoo students killed in a tragic bus accident. The city had two buses "run out of gas" right in front of Phelps so funeral attendees could not see them.

Emotions are high on this case. Opinions on the global pneumatic web tubes are like flame throwers: filled with verbal gasoline and electrified ignition sources.

Make no mistake; they here at American Atheists  detest the message of Rev. Fred Phelps and his church. They find his message hateful, vitriolic, barbaric, and asinine to say the least.

Phelps' speech may be hateful and spiteful and barbaric, but it is his right to say it. They would encourage him to continue doing what they is doing not only to practice his Freedom rs power leveling of Speech, but to encourage others to leave Christianity. His message has even caused other fundamentalists to flinch.

But they cannot disagree with the ruling of the United States Supreme Court. They applaud with enthusiasm their decision to uphold the First Amendment rights to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly. The truest check of defending the Freedom of Speech is to stand up for the speech you detest the most.

It is simple to get caught up in the emotion and require to deny the Westboro Baptist Church any opportunity to speak their mind and enjoy their Constitutional rights. It is even simpler to get swept away in the emotion of a military funeral and require to deny their constitutional rights this one time or in this one instance.

Constitutional Rights do not work like that. What judge or government entity gets to pick when and where your constitutional rights get to be overridden and denied? What does your local atheist group do when you are denied a permit because it might offend somebody?

Atheists counter-protested Phelps' visit to Huntsville with positive messages that never mentioned him or his church. Hundreds joined in the counter-protest.

There is one opinion out there that they think needs to be clarified and resolved immediately because it is factually wrong: Phelps' church was never allowed onto cemetery grounds. Cemeteries are private property and are immune to Freedom of Assembly. Every permit runescape coin given to Phelps' church for protest was on a street corner or the street itself 'in nearness to' the cemetery, but never inside the cemetery.

When Rev. Fred Phelps dies, perhaps the world can return the favor and enjoy their constitutional right to protest at his funeral.