Westboro Baptist Church, which has made a name for itself with its controversial high-profile protests of military funerals and a subsequent lawsuit that has reached the U.S. Supreme Court, is once again making headlines. This time, the small Kansas-based church led by Fred W. Phelps, Sr., has threatened to protest the funerals of victims of Tucson, Arizona, gunman Jared Loughner. A last-minute compromise, however, has avoided demonstrations during the first two of the six funerals. Instead, representatives for Westboro church will be given time on two radio talk shows, one based in Phoenix and one nationally syndicated.
Shortly after the January 8 shootings, in which U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-D) was seriously wounded, the church announced its intention to stage a protest, which in the past has consisted of a small band of people carrying graphicly worded signs attacking the U.S. Government, homosexuals, and the U.S military. The Arizona State legislature responded quickly, passing a law on January 11 prohibiting protests within 300 feet of any home, house of worship, cemetery, or funeral home just before, during, or after a ceremony or burial. The legislation was modeled after an Ohio law that has been upheld by the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals.
Forty-one States and the Federal government have passed laws limiting protests at funerals, nearly all in reaction to the activities of the Westboro church. Some, including those in Missouri and Kentucky, have been struck down for infringing on the protestors’ First Amendment freedoms of speech.
In addition, some Tucson residents pledged to form human shields to block funeral-goers from seeing protestors and their signs, and to stage other counter-protests.
These measures have so far proved unnecessary, as Fred Phelps agreed to call off protests in exchange for airtime on the Phoenix-based Steve Sanchez Show and the nationally syndicated Mike Gallagher show. Responding to criticism of his decision to interview church spokesperson Shirley Phelps-Roper, Sanchez wrote on his website:
“First, let me say as a father, I cannot imagine the pain the family is feeling and my thoughts and prayers are with them and with all the other victims’ families. Second, let me make clear that my motivation was to help bring peace to the family and the community. I believe it’s a small price to pay for me to not give this hate group (in my opinion) the opportunity to be disruptive.”
In 2007, a Maryland jury awarded Albert Snyder, the father of a soldier who had died in Afghanistan, $10.9 million in damages after he sued the Westboro Baptist Church for protesting his son’s funeral and posting a vitriolic essay about his son on its website. The Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals subseqently set aside the verdict, ruling that the church’s speech was loose, figurative, hyperbolic speech on public issues, protected by the First Amendment. Snyder then appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which granted certiorari and heard oral arguments on October 6, 2010. The Court has yet to release a decision in the case.
Snyder v. Phelps and the issues surrounding the case were covered extensively in the November 2010 issue of Supreme Court Debates.
