First amendment mavens, what do you think about this case?

[pegkerr]

The father of a fallen Marine has won a multi-million dollar settlement against Fred Phelps and the Westboro church.

Yes, we all agree that the Westboro church is perfectly odious. Is their hateful picketing at funerals free speech?

I have always had tremendous respect for Becky Lourey, the former Minnesota State Senator. She was the only person to cast a dissenting vote when the State of Minnesota voted on H.F. 2985, making it unlawful to voice protest at funerals:

"As Americans, we stand proudly for freedom of expression; the right is unconditional. The behavior of Fred Phelps’ followers is indefensible. We must not give their actions the power to take away our rights. Our country was built on a foundation of constitutional rights – and one of the most important is the freedom of speech. I will never compromise my convictions for political expediency. I will always stand for freedom.

"The hardest time to stand for freedom is in the face of overwhelming sentiment. This is when the defense of freedom is most important. I will never back down from a vote of conscience. We appear to be losing our ability to respect differences of opinion or have a civil dialogue. Legislating respectful behavior is not likely to help. In fact, more likely it will hurt."

What made Ms. Lourey's vote all the more remarkable was that she lost her own son, Matt Lourey, when his helicopter crashed in Iraq. See here.

Comments

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Are most cemeteries considered public? I would think that specific church cemeteries would be considered private, thus off-limits for protesters if not condoned by that church. I suppose though, they are just outside of those lines, but in view.

The ugliness of it all is so disheartening.