Litigation

Court Rejects Limits on Military Funeral Protests

By Peter Hardin

Even hateful, hurtful speech is protected by the Constitution, the Supreme Court ruled Wednesday in the case of an extremist church in Kansas that has carried out anti-gay protests at military funerals.

“Speech is powerful,? Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote in the 8-1 opinion, according to a New York Times article. ?It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and ? as it did here ? inflict great pain.?

“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.”

At the center of the dispute was the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, which has carried out anti-gay protests based on the view that military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan represent God exacting revenge for tolerance of homosexuality in the United States (for background, see Gavel Grab).

After picketing at the funeral of a Marine who was killed in Iraq, the Marine’s father  sued and won a damage award. The Fourth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the $5 million judgment, and today’s decision upheld that ruling, the Associated Press reported.

Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. dissented. “Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case,” he wrote.

Full post as published by The Gavel on March 02, 2011 (boomark / email).