ACLU Sues for Anti-Gay Group That Pickets at Troops' Burials

[SenseOfTumour]

My fix would be get a larger group together ready to show up when the protestors do, and stand in front of them, with blank placards to hold in front of theirs, and ready to go 'AAAAAH!' every time the protestors say anything.

its childish and in a way still disrespectful to the funeral, but it's better than letting them just stand there and be abusive.

If that doesn't work, just get some very stereptypically camp men along dressed in black leather to kiss each other while they burn bibles on the other side of the road to give them something else to deal with, away from the funeral.

Louis CK made a good point in both directions, that unless they're fucking on his lawn and he has to go around them with the mower, gays just flatly don't affect him, he's got no reason to care. At the same time, when a gay guy rollerblades past him singing ABBA songs covered in glitter and wearing dayglo green speedos and nothing else, and he laughs, he's not being homophobic, he's just laughing at the fucking funny thing that he saw.

 

[bob-2000]

Freedom of speech must fall in some limitations, infringing on somebody's right to a funeral being one of them. Perhaps to counter this lawsuit, they should state that a funeral is a religious practice so if one were to prevent this, then that would be considered a breach of freedom of religion.
All of that aside, it's preposterous that these people even see fit to muscle in on somebody's sacred burial and begin to impose their values upon the mourning family and friends.

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

The biker gang, Knights of the Last Crusade had the right idea.

I love those guys. All they have to do is show up without saying a word, and the picketers shut the unholy fuck up. It was quite funny to see those assholes from Westboro standing behind a line of those guys, looking thoroughly cowed and clearly too intimidated to so much as mutter anything under their breath.

 

[DasHunterman]

See, these Asshats are exactly why I gave up on Religion all together. Any person who claims he or she is doing God's work who then decides to invade a funeral, the most heartbreakingly sad time in a person's life, and proceeds to tell every last mourner that God let their son or daughter or mother or father die because we as a nation did not hate gays enough....

I know this will sound harsh and downright uncalled for..and if this causes me to get banned then so be it..Fred Phelps and his mob of hatemongers..I only hope that, if God exists, that there's a special sector of Hell all nice and ready for them once these shitheads finally die and they will be forced to watch every Gay Pride parade ever held while strapped into one of those Clockwork Orange chairs for the rest of Eternity.

Again, sorry for the rant but when you're the relative of a gay person, things like this set you off.

 

[JWAN]

I want to sue the ACLU for infringing on the first amendment

 

[4RT1LL3RY]

Wow, what a bunch of bigots. These are the type of people who believe going to church will protect them from the worlds wraith, I hope they one day have a very rude awakening. I really wish there weren't religious majorities, that way they couldn't hide behind it. Reactionary sects of any group are bad for society.

 

[APPCRASH]

If someone shows up at your house, vomits all over everything, and starts ranting about "them black folk," you have every right to kick them out (and perhaps just kick them.)

The same should apply for funerals, parties...
Stuff like that.

Most people don't bury their kin inside their homes. If it is at a cemetery, it's public grounds, and open game.

I personally I don't like it, but it's one of those "facts of life," if you will, that we will be forced to see until we change the constitution. If it were me, I'd welcome them to picket at my funeral, being how I would be dying for their right to do so.

Also it gets me on CNN.

 

[mendokusai]

I dunno both sides look pretty damn stupid, it's like watching two retards kick each other.

Agreed.

 

[Haydyn]

When is this going to stop?
People who are against Gay rights: Whether it is part of your religion or personal beliefs, not everyone agrees with you, or has the same religious beliefs. If two people want to be together, why not let them? Just because they were born the same gender doesn't mean they can't love eachother.

I don't give a crap, but I thought I'd point this out.

Whether it is part of your beliefs or not, not everyone may agree with you, or have the same beliefs. If they think it is wrong for you to be together, why not let them? Because they were born the same gender means that it is impossible for them to love eachother.

See how similar those are?

Now. I need sleep.

Wow. That's almost scary. I didn't even read that post until you quoted me.

On topic: Picketing at a funeral is like asking for a donation after kicking someone in the shin.

 

[HobbesMkii]

There's freedom of speech and there's freedom to bury your dead without having to read signs saying "God hates fags".

As far as I'm concerned, they can hold their demonstrations all they want so long as it doesn't interfere with the funeral proceedings in any way shape or fashion. ... Remember - your freedom is only protected when your actions are not impeding upon the freedoms of others. This principle has been upheld on multiple occasions in the Supreme Court.

Like freedom of speech, freedom of religion means you are free to follow whatever religion you choose without persecution from the government. It doesn't mean that everyone else must respect your beliefs and privacy. No matter how much of a backwards asshole someone has to be to picket a funeral, if they follow the legal process, demonstrate on public land, and are not likely to cause harm to others, they have every right to be there.

Freedom of speech, and I mean the real right that it represents, not the "I can say anything I want" bullshit most people assume it means, is a very valuable and unique right. It's the right of peaceful assembly. It is a driving force for change. And it's something that a lot of other people in the world wish they had. The ACLU understands that protecting this right is very important, and sometimes means defending the rights of very stupid and ignorant people.

This is one of those times. Once you start letting your rights get eroded it's really hard to get them back. Someone can be morally wrong and legally correct, but that doesn't mean we should start legislating morality.

One thing I'd like to note here is that the Missouri lawmakers must also have known that they were passing a law that was likely to be unconstitutional. If you look at the actual text [http://www.house.missouri.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills061/biltxt/truly/HB1026T.HTM] you'll see that they passed the same law worded in two different ways, with the second version going into effect when the first is "finally declared void or unconstitutional".

I'm quoting this because I always wanted to quote the smartest comment in the thread. Everything that Virgil said was on target.

A lot of the things you witness everyday, that people are allowed to do, are there because the ACLU acted to force lawmakers to comply with the US Constitution. The ACLU was the force behind the Scopes Trial and its modern day successor in the Dover Area School District (these cases were landmark in raising Science above Religion, or Evolution above Creationism/Intelligent Design in state schools). The ACLU got bans on interracial marriage lifted, fought for Rush Limbaugh's (Rush Limbaugh, for pete's sake!) right to privacy against the TSA, challenged the warrantless wiretapping carried out by the Bush administration, was involved in Roe v. Wade (legality of abortion), and Brown v. Board of Education (segregation of schools ruled unconstitutional). They'll defend anybody anywhere against those areas where laws are being passed in ignorance or in disregard of those laws that the Federal Government mandates that all states in the Union must adhere to.

I suggest, then, if you don't like these people's right to protest, you write to your senators and congressmen/women and tell them you don't want the Freedom of Speech anymore. You'd prefer the government to tell you what you can say, and where you can say it. But, if you just don't like what they say, then protest them, don't restrict freedom for everybody because of the minority. That's the power you have. In Rhode Island, where I live, students actually formed a counter demonstration to these people, drowning out their protest. All perfectly legal. And far better for everyone involved than having cops come in squad cars to arrest people on the basis that they were speaking their minds, and in a public place, no less.

 

[joe the janitor]

They deserve a fail cake. That's just terrible. Once again, glad to live up here in Canada. Our religious nuts at least shut up.

Same here!

 

[walkingdead127]

As much as I hate the idea of people protesting at troop funerals, I think they have the right. Freedom of Speech was not made to protect non offensive material. But I would think these people have a shread of decency, I guess not.

 

[Brett Alex]

Its the principle of the thing. Freedom of speech and all that should be for everyone. Not just for those whom you dont want to hear. These people are sick, depraved, and completely idiotic. But they have legal right (so far) to do what they do.

But at a funeral? I think thats the major issue here.

Free speech, but within reason. Its the same reason defamation and slander and harassment laws exist.

no, no "within reason"

at least as far as the government is concerned. Private citizens can stand up to people they don't like, and if actual laws are broken (assaults, threats, etc), then the police should become involved.

But no one should ever be arrested for saying anything, anywhere.

All that being said, if some anti-gay protesters picketted my brother's funeral, they wouldn't be there long.. but I would never want them to be silenced by the government.. I'd do it myself, and I'd have the right to.

Well, even to the government. Perhaps not private citizens, but, newspapers for example, shouldn't be able to print things that are patently untrue to bias opinion against a political group or politician.

I guess reconsidering this, they kind of do have a right to do it. Its just one of those things thats legal, but very, very poor form.

 

[ExodusinFlames]

Idiots like that just make me laugh.

 

[A Pious Cultist]

Why oh why can't America just have hate laws against picketing funerals (especially those of military background) ?

 

[Nemorov]

I agree that free speech is free speech, but picketing at a funeral is just rude. These were once thinking, feeling human beings who had people who cared about them, and these people are bereaved and devastated at the losses. That is not the place for rabble-rousing. Show a little freaking respect.

But free speech is free speech. As mad as it makes me sometimes.

 

[Bernzz]

Ugh. Fucking Westboro Baptist Church. I hate them. So much.

They said that the bushfires in Australia earlier this year (the fucking massive ones that destroyed a few rural communities in Victoria - one of my friends had a home in Kinglake, and she was visiting Melbourne at the time. If she wasn't, she could've died) were because of us tolerating gays and lesbians.

I want these people to have their own special place in Hell. To burn.