WASHINGTON—The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that the First Amendment protects a fringe religious group that protested at the funeral of a U.S. Marine killed in Iraq.
The court, on an 8-1 vote, ruled that the soldier's father couldn't sue Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., for celebrating his son's death with vulgar funeral pickets and an online attack.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703559604576176323629295598.html?mod=djemalertNEWS
What is the world coming to? How can the court let these people protest at funerals? It's very surprising to me that it was an 8-1 ruling. This quote baffles me, ""Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and — as it did here — inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker," Roberts said. "As a nation we have chosen a different course — to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate." The judges agree that what the picketers are doing is painful on the families, yet it is protected. This is a very strange and disturbing decision.
ReplyDeleteIs this case consistent with prior 1st Amendment cases? Should the 1st A protect the most offensive speech?
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