One area where the left and right tend to agree is free speech. Most of us believe it's one of the Bill of Rights sacred protections, we want to uphold whenever possible. But these wack jobs that do protests at the funerals of fallen soldiers are sickening. Is there any constitutionally protected way to stop these animals?

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_funeral_protests

YORK, Pa. – Some nights Albert Snyder wakes up at 3 a.m. Other nights he doesn't sleep at all, tormented by thoughts of the hateful signs carried by a fundamentalist church outside his Marine son's funeral.

"Thank God for Dead Soldiers."

"You're Going to Hell."

"Semper Fi Fags."

Hundreds of grieving families have been targeted by the Westboro Baptist Church, which believes military deaths are the work of a wrathful God who punishes the United States for tolerating homosexuality.

Most mourners try to ignore the taunts. But Snyder couldn't let it go. He became the first to sue the church to halt the demonstrations, and he's pursued the group farther than anyone else.

It probably is protected speech, but there are lots of ways to combat it. The first would be to have a group ready to mix in with them with large signs to over overshadow them. It would be great if the other churches banded together and had a group ready to mix in with them and start singing hymns. Better yet would be a band that lined the streets anytime they showed up and started playing over the army song over the top of them as groups came and went. If they were shouting loud enough to be heard on the actual funeral grounds, I think I would sue them for taking away my right to enjoy my own property. They are, in my opinion, violating with the owner of the property where the funeral is taking place from having "quiet enjoyment" of his property and are in fact creating a legal "nuisance". Sue each and every one of them individually. At the same time get an injunction.

The worst thing that can happen is for the media to keep showing them and giving them a voice. I say attack swiftly, quietly and with a huge legal hammer.

It doesn't count as free speech if it's used to harass...

Im just sayin'.

Unfortunately as much as I would love to have these POS stopped, it is free speech and it is their right.

I am sure there are some creative ways to put the hurt on these folks that are well within the law.

I am not too into bashing people for their beliefs but these folks really are horrible abominations of people.

What a bunch of fuggin loonies.

This has the makings of a South Park episode written all over it.

I agree that what they are doing is low and despicable but I cant help but to think that when we infringe on their rights, we infringe on our own.

It has been said many times "I may not agree with what you say, but I will fight to the death for you to say it" is something that really needs to be examined here.

I wouldn't be against the Hells Angels being hired to act as bodyguards for the grieving families though... protect them from being emotionally tortured. Why start chipping away at Freedom of Speech, when there are plenty of other ways that keep these freedoms pure.

Well from what I understand the Phelps clan was in a public place (i.e. outside his Marine son's funeral), not within a private ceremony.

I am not arguing with you that it should be dealt with, it is just a matter of how... I dont want something done to these asshats to effect the rights of anyone else.

The Tipper Gores of the world have been salivating at the thought of getting a shoe in the door of free speech, this is the type of thing that would do it.

well, maybe some kind of a retaliation of disgusting acts would be in order... like a psych-out in the movie BASEketball.

Maybe they should hire some homos to go make out where they are protesting.

Yeah but these guys post up outside, on the street

This is a touchy subject.

When the opportunity for asshats like these to exercise their 1st Amendment rights comes up...I like to exercise my 1st Amendment right by getting right up in their faces and telling them the unnatural sexual acts they should start perpetrating with their beloved pets and relatives.

After all...I have free speech rights, too.

Fish on...

Todd

I'd pick out the oldest and feeblest to tell it to, just to see if I could cause a stroke...apoplexy, at least...

Might cause me some legal difficulties.

Fish on...

Todd

Harm like Phelps getting dragged up and down the street by some Marines you mean?



This has been through the courts, and not only did the familty suing Phelps and Company lose, but now they have to pay Phelp's legal fees as well.

If there are no legal means to make these people STFU, then I'm all for resorting to illegal means. Fark those assholes.

It would be a shame if there was a runaway dumptruck....

I think I just saw one.

Just to be clear...the Murder Van is securely parked in my driveway...though it has pretty poor brakes, and if it chose the moment to lose the brakes completely as cruising past those dipshits, I'd call it a fitting end to both the van and the protesters.

Fish on...

Todd

LINK

Indeed!

Fish on...

Todd

Wouldn't you hire yourself to defend yourself?

I remember this loudmouth who came up to a bunch of us eating lunch in the PSU cafeteria back in '81, he was going off about Jeebus Christ, or Nazis, or the Ayatollah or something.....hard to tell through the spittle and hippie beard......and I told him to back the F off and leave us alone. He said he had freedom of speech so I said "cool, and I have freedom FROM your speech" He kept going on so I stood up and said "here comes some freedom, A-HOLE!" and cocked my arm to deliver some love. He ran away mumbling, but back then we didn't have an army of Shysters to take his case. I would probably get in trouble for defending my turf today, but back then manners still mattered and the whoel country was not a huge vaginized pool of cretins and slip-and-fall opportunists. Shitty people could be dealt a bit of frontier justice. God how I miss those days..........

This "church" is a perfect example of "tolerant Christianity" that smears truly tolerant Christians ........who are cringing at their hateful behavior. Why hasn't Jesse Jackson become involved in THIS case?? Oh...wait...........

Sometimes people do need to remember that their freedom of speech comes with someone else's freedom of speech to tell the them to fukoff, or go tell it to the mountain, or that their right to free speech doesn't grant them immunity from being told that they are dumb as a box of rocks.

Fish on...

Todd

Free speech is not an absolute.

RCW 9A.84.030 Disorderly Conduct covers this kind of behavior, in WA state.