God works in strange ways. But he does work!!!

Why always "he"? I thoroughly endorse this action, but I fervently hope that no one's first amendment rights were violated. herm

liberalz are at fault for letting this happen.

nanc

This backlash against the Assholes from Westboro may have far reaching effects.

The famously anti-everything Ayatollah Kennedy's First Presbeterian Church and Hatemonger Heaven in Fort Lauderdale, Florida has apparently turned over a new leaf after their hate filled asswad chief moneygrubber died. They are eliminating the political activism from their 'ministry'.

Perhaps they are just lying low until they can find another scumbag like Kennedy to lead the flock or maybe assholes like him and Phelps are a dying breed.

OOPS!! That should have read Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church and Hatemonger Haven. Sorry for the mistake. First Presbyterian in Ft Lauderdale is a non-wackjob Church.

"They are eliminating the political activism from their 'ministry'."

The tax exempt status of any church engaged in political activism should be pulled. Axe's kind words for the late Ayatollah Kennedy are 100% appropriate.

Civil courts of this kind do not issue fines. The jury or judge can award punitive and or real damages. This group of Bible thumper got both and deserved more.

People and or groups , should be held responsible for their words or actions. The first amendment shouldn't be a permit to say whatever you want and be protected. Any time your mouth causes negative results for another, there must be an avenue for redress. This case had a fine result and may cause other groups to exersize more caution in their words or deeds.

It says something about the pussification of America that these demonstrators did not have the shit beat out of them at each funeral they disrupted.

It says something about the pussification of America that these demonstrators did not have the shit beat out of them at each funeral they disrupted.

#8 | Posted by Johnson at 2009-02-22 06:32 PM

I agree.

However, if that were to happen there would be a lawsuit filed and probably won by the "church"

The US Constitution does not protect a person from being Offended. Hate Speech and vile speech are protected speech. Sorry people that don't understand that.

Larry

PS This story has been on the Retort many times. It's a 2007 story.

Larry needs to appear and tell us all how this is unconstitutional and that Phelps can be punished for anything he says on govt property.

LOL

I swear to GOD that I didn't know Larry had already posted.

I am laughing my ass off right now.

The US Constitution does not protect a person from being Offended.

No, but a civil court and a state supreme court can award damages for injury.

Hey dumbass Eberly we have been over this before with the same topic. You know the truth You just can not fucking face it thats all.

Larry

Not for the content of the speech Eberly. Damn dude are You that willfully ignorant of the facts and the truth. We have been over this before.

Larry

these demonstrators did not have the shit beat out of them at each funeral they disrupted

^^This is why you're wrong, Larry. The protest amounted to "fighting words":

There are certain well-defined and narrowly limited classes of speech, the prevention and punishment of which have never been thought to raise any constitutional problem. These include the lewd and obscene, the profane, the libelous, and the insulting or "fighting words" those which by their very utterance inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. It has been well observed that such utterances are no essential part of any exposition of ideas, and are of such slight social value as a step to truth that any benefit that may be derived from them is clearly outweighed by the social interest in order and morality.

Chaplinsky v. New Hampshire, 1942

I'd imagine there have been pleantly of scuff-ups at these protest and law enforcement chose not to arrest people.

Nope sorryy I am not wqrong. I have proven this over and over again. Their speech is protected speech no matter how vile it is. Oh and they were on PUBLIC PROPERTY too when they were being vile. Nice try R8RH8R So sorry for You.

Larry

Larry,

On principle, I agree with you on this one.

However, the law seems to read otherwise, per R8R's linked excerpt and the outcome of the case which is the subject of this thread.

What I find most offensive is the amount of the damages awarded - $10.9 million!!!

It says something about the pussification of America that these demonstrators did not have the shit beat out of them at each funeral they disrupted.

#8 | Posted by Johnson at 2009-02-22 06:32 PM | Reply | Flag:

I'd say it speaks more to the fact that the funeral-goers refuse to stoop to the level of Phelps and his ilk.

Although I couldn't disagree more with all the diarrhea that spews forth from the mouths of the Westboro Baptists, the first amendment is a trump-card here.

IMO tax the hell (literally) out of these thugs.

The Phelps "compound" is only ~2-3 miles away from where I currently type.

If I'm not mistaken, the "congregation" is mostly Phelps' children (although at least one of them disowned the entire family) and their extended families - only a few hundred at very most.

They are becoming increasingly irrelevant, despite the fact that they manage to create a media shit-storm whenever they show up for one of their little "demonstrations."

On the internet, a good rule of thumb is, "Don't feed the trolls"; this can be readily applied to the Phelps clan, as they are master trolls In Real Life. Hopefully once the old man kicks the bucket, they'll complete their downward spiral into irrelevance.

We have been over this before.

I know Larry. Defaming speech is something that can cause injury. Newspapers can be sued for defamation. Just because something is said from public property doesn't mean it doesn't injur and thus, can't be sued for and damages awarded.

Larry,

I am not convinced that you are wrong.

Law, particularly constitutional law, is a matter of interpretation. You are making reasonably sound legal arguments; it's just that a case-study examination seems to indicate a pattern of awarding damages for these types of cases.

As someone who is a huge proponent of free speech, I find this verdict disturbing, as much as I find the actions of these picketing individuals to be disgusting. Having said that on both counts, the law isn't nearly always about my personal view of justice; it's a matter of interpretting text, linguistical intent, precedent, etc.

Perhaps in some form of appeal this verdict could be overturned...however I'd say it's very unlikely and an overturn is very far from a slam-dunk, as you seem to suggest.

I know Larry. Defaming speech is something that can cause injury. Newspapers can be sued for defamation. Just because something is said from public property doesn't mean it doesn't injur and thus, can't be sued for and damages awarded.

Posted by eberly at 2009-02-22 07:15 PM | Reply

Bwhahahahahahh read it and weap eberly becvause You are so full of shit it's not even funny.

I'd imagine there have been pleantly of scuff-ups at these protest and law enforcement chose not to arrest people.

#16 | Posted by r8rh8r at 2009-02-22 07:04 PM | Reply | Flag:

Hmm, interesting precedent in that decision you cite. It's a very fine line here, and the Phelps' MO is to push that as far as possible, and then some.

As far as scuff-ups...I don't know of any. Not that I'm an expert on the history of their bullshit, but I would assume it'd be the giddy talk of the town here if an angry military family decided to bust some skulls. Anyone here (Topeka KS) will tell you that the Phelpses are a blight on the entire city.

The Westboro Baptist Church's congregation includes (I do believe?) a significant number of bloodthirsty lawyers who intimidate and harass anyone and everyone they perceive as enemies.

Their ability to rain down a legal shitstorm may very well be the only reason some of these folks haven't had to be scraped off the pavement with a spatula.

THIS LINK Says it all

BRAVO...... I hope the church goes under. After they pay the judgement.

I believe that this vile speech is classified as fighting words. There is free speech but your speech can't be used to entice violence or a riot which their words most certainly do.

I'm waiting to see someone spoof one of their signs with something like, "$10.9 million...GOD HATES THE WESTBORO BAPTIST CHURCH"

:D

Larry,

Who is a public official?

this Church can spout their hate in many places, they can print flyers, newspapers and other garbage but saying they can do it in all places is not a first amendment right, if they march unto the world series playing field they will be ejected. Now if you prevent their hate speech in their church then you can argue first amendment rights. The rights of that family not to be hassled is more valuable, remember they can hate elsewhere so they are not prevented from hating, their rights are preserved!

I still think it's too bad that Canadian customs didn't let them in to protest the funeral of the soldier in Winnipeg last year. They would be in Headingly jail charged with hate crimes..a law that exists here just for them type of people.

Yes we have free speech here..but to willingly do acts of hate ends you up in jail with some buck calling you Squaw.

But sadly they were stopped..and they never would have got near the cemetery alive, there was hundreds of good Canadian citizens waiting with baseball bats for them.

Wow. What a nice way to start the day!!

That judge and jury rock!

In general I agree with Larry on this issue. I am opposed to censorship in any form.
In the pulput preachers should be able to say that non-belivers, gays, adulters, and their supporters are going to Hell.
I don't believe in any of that but then I am an atheist so, if they are right I am going to Hell.

They should not be allowed to promote or encourage violence. According to them, God with fix it all later.

That having been said, I would have a hard time condeming anyone who thumped the hell out of any of these folks who showed up at a funeral to spout their hate. If I was a witness to such act I would probably not be able to remember anything and I would certainly be unable to identify anyone.

A sad commentary on my honesty.

Keep in mind they directed their words and written information towards specific people and made specific comments about them. These comments were damaging and they were lies.

In any case, nobody is "censoring" anybody. Nobody is arresting them or charging them with a crime. HOwever, that does not mean that they can't be sued for injuries received. This isn't about constitutional rights IMO.

"No, but a civil court and a state supreme court can award damages for injury."

Yeah, this has really helped America. Outrageous payments on stupid lawsuits don't hurt us in the longrun. Hate crimes & hate speech are bullshit designed to select who can say what & what was or wasn't offensive usually to placate some lefty who got their feelings hurt.
I am in no way defending these morons, they do more to turn people away from Jesus than anything & they are SUPREME idiots. Still, allowing political correctness & indignation of militant groups deciding what is offensive & who was injured is NOT fair nor is it a good idea. The amount is excessive but there's news. I wonder what they plan to do with the money?

I'm pretty sure that Phelps' "church" was already bankrupt from previous civil suits that had been filed against him. I'm pretty sure the family's broke.

Unfortunately, they don't have to deal with a very large overhead when their only business is just to act like a bunch of dicks.

Dear Mr. Phelps,

Payback's a bitch isn't it? This is what you get for making kids hold "God Hates Fags" signs when they don't even know what it means. You are a horrible human being, and I hope you're right about Hell, so you can go there and suffer eternally for the hatred and bile you've instilled in those children.

Seriously though, I hope you get hit by a bus.

This link says everything there is to know about free speech.

www.youtube.com/watch?
v=eeVrzrmgitQ

Lonnie

What do you f'n expect from christianity, the religion of peace, love and tolerance?

Nope sorryy I am not wqrong. I have proven this over and over again. Their speech is protected speech no matter how vile it is. Oh and they were on PUBLIC PROPERTY too when they were being vile. Nice try R8RH8R So sorry for You.

No need to be "sorry" for me, dumbshit. Just read the case law and stop relying on blogs for your proof. I'm not really gonna argue your word vs Justice Murphy of the Supreme fucking Court for very long. You're an uneducated, unemployed, willfully ignorant leach on society whose imaginary law degree pales in comparison to the knowledge of the average Federal inmate.

I'd suggest you start work on the appeal since you know so much.

Case law, common sense, and the judge and jury of this case, say these protests are likely to invite a breach of the peace, making thier slogans "fighting words" which are not protected by the Constitution.[Full Stop]

You're an uneducated, unemployed, willfully ignorant leach on society whose imaginary law degree pales in comparison to the knowledge of the average Federal inmate.

#40 | Posted by r8rh8r at 2009-02-23 02:00 PM | Reply

Gnaw on that LaRrY.

What do you f'n expect from christianity, the religion of peace, love and tolerance?

Awesome! Let's slander an entire religion based upon the actions of a small subgroup. And hey, while we're at it, let's generalize all Muslims as terrorists who would like nothing better than to destroy America! I mean, sure, these extremist groups are a tiny fraction of a percent of the practicioners of these religions, but who needs facts when you've got blanket statements?

Exactly Kinger! ^5's.

Lonnie

The Westboro Baptist Church's congregation includes (I do believe?) a significant number of bloodthirsty lawyers who intimidate and harass anyone and everyone they perceive as enemies.

They portray themselves as "moral crusaders" but the purpose of their outrageous behavior is to provoke a response, preferably one that violates the law. They then pounce on the person who "violated their rights" and sue, usually for slander or libel, though I wouldn't be surprised if there are a few cases of suing folks for physical attacks. Most cases settle out of court and the $$$$ goes into the family kitty.

That they might be bankrupted by a court judgment is, I suppose, quite appropriate. It bothers me a bit, as I'm a staunch supporter of the first amendment. Still I won't shed tears if they have to pay.

The father who sued said it wasn't about the money. I don't begrudge him the money, but it would be nice if he allotted at least part of the money to a fund that would 1) repay some of the money extorted by the Phelps family from people over the years 2) compensate the families of others whose funerals were disrupted 3) help fund some gay-rights organizations.

Hell it doesn't bother me in the least bit that they got that high of a judgment against them. I think another step of getting rid of them is to take away their tax free status. No money, no bother. I want to see that organization self destruct! I'd get off on that thought.

I'd love to see it get so bad that every person in town named Phelps is begging the government for money to eat.

Lonnie

First Presbyterian in Ft Lauderdale is a non-wackjob Church.
.........#5 | Posted by axe

......no such thing......

He gets photographed with a bong and now they are going after his Church?! This war on drugs has got to stop!*

*Yes, I know wrong Phelps.

"It will take the 4th Circuit of Appeals a few minutes to reverse this silly thing," said Rev Phelps.

so if this story is from Nov 2007 where is the 4th Circuit of Appeal's reversal of this silly thing? Why are we beating a dead horse (the dead horse here would be Larry)? What is the latest ruling?

First Presbyterian in Ft Lauderdale is a non-wackjob Church.
.........#5 | Posted by axe

......no such thing......

#46 | Posted by skizziks

does that carry over to all Mosques and Jewish Temples too?

here are some of my favorite Westboro moments:

These dipwads showed up here in Jacksonville last year (protesting dead Marines in a Marine town very smart move), military families and veterans organized a counter protest across the street, no one heard a word of the Phelps peeps, the pro-military gang had it. You wanna get loud? We can get louder. It is like the motorcycle group that was formed specifically to counter the Phelps gang, they take their motorcycles and American Flags to the funerals and surround the families, the minute the Phelps peeps start spouting their crap the motorcycles rev up, guess what the families don't hear you, all they hear are the roar of motorcycles sporting the stars and stripes.

I do believe I have the best "westboro moment(s)" on teh u-toobs:

IRL trolling at its finest!

Can't get on Youtube at work, but is the one in #52 the clip where he creates the bright pink Sodomobile and drives it around to all the states in the South where sodomy is illegal?

Normally I can't stand Michael Moore's bullshit and how he directly deceives his audience to "prove" his own points. That said, I laughed my ass off at that video.

Can't get on Youtube at work, but is the one in #52 the clip where he creates the bright pink Sodomobile and drives it around to all the states in the South where sodomy is illegal?

#54 | Posted by Kinger

It is indeed, sir.

does that carry over to all Mosques and Jewish Temples too?

#49 | Posted by GotTruth

........absolutely.........

......all crazy, but none as whacked out as the Muslims......