Westboro Church Wins In Court, Loser In Public
Mar-07-2011

Last Wednesday, the Supreme Court handed down an 8-1 decision in favor of the public protests of the Topeka-based Westboro Baptist Church.
Westboro - which in its theology is neither "Baptist" nor "Church" - has for 20 years picketed funerals (particularly those of the military) with signs that say things like "God Loves Dead Soldiers." The group says they protest because they believe the country is too tolerant of homosexuality.
The sexual orientation of the dead soldiers doesn't matter to them. They know that a military funeral - or any public event, really - is a fruitful vineyard from which to glean public attention, good or ill.
They're masterful at pushing buttons and they are acutely aware of their rights. People who've reacted unduly to their protests have frequently found themselves on the losing end of court cases. Westboro rarely loses.
But they've come close. In 2006, a handful of Westboro members - including patriarch and founder Fred Phelps - protested at the Maryland funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who'd died in Iraq. Snyder's father testified that he could not read the vulgar signs during the procession, but he watched the news later. He filed suit, and the case worked its way up to the Supreme Court.
Wednesday's decision was not surprising, considering the high court is loath to limit free speech, no matter how hateful. What was surprising - at least a little - was the dissenting vote from Samuel Alito, whom Cato Institute called a "conservative with a significant libertarian streak." Regardless, Alito was speaking for many when he wrote in his opinion: "In order to have a society in which public issues can be openly and vigorously debated, it is not necessary to allow the brutalization of innocent victims."
Westboro treated the decision as a victory, which in fact it was for them. And that, I believe, is the last I'll mention the group by name. I intend, instead, to take a page from the book of the Patriot Guard Riders, a nearly quarter-million strong national group that since 2005 has volunteered to attend funerals of military personnel and first-responders. If a family requests their presence, the Patriot Guards serve as an honor guard and a buffer for the likes of Phelps and company.
The Patriot Guard does not refer to Phelps' group by name. To the Patriot Guard, they are simply uninvited guests.
They do not engage, nor do they allow any interruption to the dignity of the service. If the uninvited guests are loud - some are prone to singing vulgar songs to accompany their signs - the Patriot Guards will rev their motorcycle engines to drown them out, though Connecticut Patriot Guard Captain Bob Stone doesn't like to do that because it draws attention to the Patriot Guard. Better that the attention goes to the deceased and their loved ones.
Stone became captain five years ago, when membership was 200. In that time, the uninvited guests have come to the state three times. Guard membership is now 1,200 - veterans and non-veterans, men and women bound by the belief that dignity is paramount when saying goodbye to a hero.
I have seen both groups in action - the uninvited guests hoisting signs and the Patriot Guard quietly holding flags with their backs to them. At one funeral, I asked a Patriot Guard in a gray pony tail how he stayed calm in the face of the foolishness just across the street. He shrugged and said this is why he served, to protect free speech. I admire that greatly. If you can't defeat uninvited guests in court - and many have tried - then you can at least stand toe-to-toe with them in a silent protest that nevertheless says eloquently: Not here, you don't.

Posted by Ken at 4:50 AM - Link to this entry  |  Share this entry  |  Print