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December 08, 2007
Court Allows Group To Picket Soldiers' Funerals
Court Allows Group To Picket Soldiers' Funerals
A federal appeals court Thursday sided with a Kansas woman who believes that God’s hatred of homosexuality requires her to picket funerals for American soldiers holding signs that read “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “God Blew Up the Troops.”
Shirley Phelps-Roper is part of a Topeka, Kan. church that contends God is punishing the United States for permitting homosexuality by killing soldiers. In response to a August 2005 protest by Phelps-Roper and other members of her church at the funeral of Army Spc. Edward Lee Myers in St. Joseph, Mo., the Missouri legislature passed a par of laws that prohibited picketing near a funeral location or procession.
Thursday, a three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit granted Phelps-Roper the injunction, pending a full hearing on the merits of her claim. Typically, an injunction is granted if the petitioner can prove she is likely to prevail on her lawsuit. I
n this case, the panel found that Missouri’s law was likely unconstitutional because “any interest the state has in protecting funeral mourners from unwanted speech is outweighed by the First Amendment right to free speech.”
The matter will now return to the federal trial court in Kansas City for a full hearing on the merits of Phelps-Roper’s suit. In the meantime, she and members of her church can resume picketing military funerals.
As an aside, a visit to the church's website reveals that the church doesn't simply show up funerals. Upcoming targets include Billy Joel (and not for continuing to release greatest hits packages), Ozzy Osbourne, R. Kelly, Mannheim Steamroller(!) and, for some unspecified reason, the University of Kansas basketball game against Ohio University.
Wild Thing's comment........
The funerals are not a public forum and no one is allowed to disturb the private reflections of mourners. You don't have a right to push in your nose where you are not wanted.
Thank God for the Patriot Guard!!
So you are an anti-american left-wing fascist pig faced Nazi you have the right to free speech. However, if you are a real American and want to tell the left where to go you have NO right to free speech and anything you say will be considered hate speech or some other kind of against the left-wing fascist anti-American law. Besides this is NO Church it is a group of slime and scum people.
Posted by Wild Thing at December 8, 2007 12:40 AM
Comments
Blue City Baltimore, in blue state Maryland?
Posted by: drstrangeloveb52isok at December 8, 2007 02:35 AM
Again, Federal judges rule on technicality, not morality. The Phelps group, like the aetheist fellow in Caifornia(Newell?) who doesn't like the Pledge of Allegience, end up having an impact on millions of people
Posted by: TomR at December 8, 2007 03:13 AM
Now wait a minute, the fed judge said, that if she believes she has this duty to protest funerals in the name of god, that's ok, but If a judge, no less, in Alabama believes the 10 commnadments should be part of the court system this is not ok.
Wasn't it decided by O. Wendell Holmes that crying fire in a crowded theater was not protected speech, because it would do harm to other people and that is where the 'Free Speech' ends.
And why is this court so concerned about the rights of people who would do damage to families at such a grevious time.
Somebody ought to Bitch slap these people and that three judge panel until they start making sense.
And if they persist in protesting funerals of Our Fallen Heroes, all bets are off and so is there physical protection from cray's like me who might do them harm when found doing this despicable crap. Baseball bats and Axe handles work nice this time of year.
I am sorry but they hide behind the protection of the constitution, at the same time dishonoring the ones protecting that same constitution, these people need a good Old fashiion, Southern Ass Whuppin.
Posted by: Mark at December 8, 2007 07:17 AM
Since she has a Constitutional right to picket funerals, maybe we need to exercise our God-given Constitutional rights to kick the sh_t out of them.
Just another case of a lawyer in a black robe overturning the will of the people and its elected officials.
Posted by: BobF at December 8, 2007 07:40 AM
Disgusting!
As you said Chrissie!
Posted by: patrickdaniel at December 8, 2007 08:02 AM
This story highlights the reason why the next presidential election is so critical to the survival of the country. The president chooses federal judges and they get to rule on everything else this country was founded on. All Republican candidates, regardless of anything that they may have said or done, would be far better than any Democrat at appointing judges. The election is as simple as that.
Picketing funerals doesn't sound like anything a real God would approve of. So, screw Shirley Phelps-Roper, her church, and the federal appeals court judges who bought into this crap. Satan is waiting.
Posted by: Les at December 8, 2007 09:28 PM
Commence Fire! Fire At Will!
Posted by: GMC at December 9, 2007 12:45 AM
Tom, yes don't you just love how the law is done by interpretation and not literally. I will never understand it I guess.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 12:48 AM
drstrangeloveb52isok, Maryland is so lost, Nick has relatives that live there and everyone of them a dem. ick. hahaha He says the same thing.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 12:51 AM
Mark....."Somebody ought to Bitch slap these people and that three judge panel until they start making sense."....I would cheer this on big time. Heck I would do it myself if I could.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 12:53 AM
Bob exactly!!
One time in Calif. we had voted on Prop 187, it passed big time, and was about illegals. The lefites didn't like that is passed so they took it to court and a liberal judge said our vote didn't count. I was so angry and learned a lesson about how little our vote counts if a judge wants to over turn something at his or her whim. grrrrrrrrrrr
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 12:56 AM
Patrick, it sure is disgusting.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 12:58 AM
Les, yes,your right, it sure is critical and to see what can happen with the wrong judges can really drastically change a situtaion. Very scary and upsetting too.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 01:02 AM
GMC, that works for me, I would vote for that for sure.
Posted by: Wild Thing at December 9, 2007 01:02 AM
Look at Maryland Dumbocrat Rep. Mikulski... what a whack job! 'ICK' or 'HICK'? Maryland just threw Lt. Gov. Michael Steele overboard but this honorable black American can survive! Nick... when did the Greeks land in Maryland? GO NY GIANTS!
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at December 9, 2007 02:41 AM
