A Question of Distaste

by Victoria Ison


A news brief in the March 22 issue of Time Magazine chronicles a clash of the freedom of speech and poor taste.

In 2006, Albert Snyder’s son, a Marine, was killed in Iraq. The ensuing funeral failed to provide the father the comfort or closure he needed. That’s because Snyder’s funeral was chosen as a protest point for the Westboro Baptist Church. The organization, run by Fred Phelps out of Topeka, Kansas, is aggressively anti-gay. According to Time, its members believe that American troops die in combat because the United States accepts and allows homosexuality. Members of the church raise awareness of their beliefs by attending military funerals and holding signs that say things like “Thank God for dead soldiers.”

When Albert Snyder sued the church for its members’ funeral behavior, he won almost $11 million in emotional distress damages. But that amount was later reduced, and, later, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals nullified the ruling. In September 2009, the Court termed the church’s behavior “repugnant,” but, according to Time, could not deny its legality.

Now the Supreme Court has agreed to consider the Snyder v. Phelps case. The Court’s decision this fall will determine whether offensive protests like the Westboro Church’s are actually protected by the First Amendment.

It may be tempting to hope the Court decides in favor of Snyder. However, such a decision would have dramatic effects on the breadth of the First Amendment’s freedom of speech clause. It is important that the First Amendment be as far from exclusionary as possible; to ensure maximum, necessary rights, it must encompass all speech, no matter how distasteful.

What should actually be hoped is that individuals and organizations like the Westboro Church will recognize an age-old principle: gifts that are not respectfully acknowledged will be scarce in the future. Unfortunately, the freedom of speech is a gift, not an inalienable right. Thanks to the Westboro Baptist Church’s repugnant actions, the Supreme Court may now limit this gift.

Apparently simple values like respect are missing from the church’s Sunday School curricula.