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Picketing at a funeral isn’t right

by YankeeJim | March 2, 2011 at 07:48 am

122 views | 2 Recommendations | 8 comments

When a funeral procession drives through traffic, people slow or stop, depending upon the police escort. People know to be respectful under such circumstances.

I think that state and local governments could pass laws that set limits and restrict protests and distractions to being a certain distance from the proceedings or otherwise outside the cemetery at least.

While you cannot stop it, you can restrict and set limits. Let the courts chew on that. Something is wrong with this picture.

Breaking News Alert: Supreme Court rules for military funeral protesters
March 2, 2011 10:23:23 AM

The Supreme Court has ruled that the First Amendment protects fundamentalist church members who mount attention-getting, anti-gay protests outside military funerals.

The court voted 8-1 Wednesday in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan. The decision upheld an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead Marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

http://link.email.washingtonpost.com/...XLB9/ZH/h”

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Grace H

at 10:14 on March 2nd, 2011

Jim it isnt right. Persnally I'ld tell these bastards Ill see them in hell.

However, as a journalism student I understand why the Court ruled in the church's favor. Not to do so would weaken the first amendment. This first amendment is paramount to the existence of a democratic civil society. Therefore, they almost have no choice, regardless of how despicable these people are.

What we need to see is the Christian community, especially the Baptist community as whole condemn and disenfranchise these people in a very adamant and very public way. The courts cannot so that. They are prohibited by two crucial amendments in the Bill of Rights.

YankeeJim

at 13:38 on March 2nd, 2011

What is a "hate" crime?

[q url=“http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1GGGE_enUS361&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=define:+hate+crime]

Hate crimes (also known as bias-motivated crimes) occur when a perpetrator targets a victim because of his or her perceived membership in a certain social group, usually defined by racial group, religion, sexual orientation, disability, class, ethnicity, nationality, age, gender, gender identity ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime
Hate Crime is a 2006 drama film, written and directed by first-time director/writer Tommy Stovall and starring Seth Peterson, Bruce Davison, Chad Donella, Cindy Pickett, and Brian J. Smith. ...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_Crime_(film)
A crime considered particularly heinous for having been motivated by hate for a race, gender, religion, etc. which can result in harsher punishments by statute
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hate_crime
Hate crime is made up of activity involving homophobic and racial crime. It involves any crime where prejudice against an identifiable group of people is a factor in determining who is victimised.
www.cleveland.police.uk/about-us/Glossary.aspx
a criminal offense committed against a person or property that is motivated, in whole or in part, by the offender's bias against a race, color, ethnicity, national origin, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability, age or religion.
urespect.umich.edu/report/definitions/"

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YankeeJim

at 13:40 on March 2nd, 2011

I think that a good lawyer could make a case that the Baptists are engaged in hate mongering.

Grace H

at 15:34 on March 2nd, 2011

Logically I disagree with you, it would end up fallacious and not near sound enough.

For one, they have to commit a crime under state or federal penal code, and not in the court of public opinion.

Hate mongering is not a crime. They do not target the dead but the abstract. They target groups or demographics and make absurd and inflammatory claims, but do so in an intangible manner. They have lawyers in their family and as attaches so I severely doubt they will slip enough to be charged with a crime and silenced.

If they attach a name then maybe we could see some sort of crime. But I doubt that will ever happen.

YankeeJim

at 15:38 on March 2nd, 2011

OK Grace. Anger gets the best of me.

The baton is passed to you and your generation to address the Baptist problem.

It gives me the huckabees.

Grace H

at 05:48 on March 3rd, 2011

Eh. I watched a documentary, Small Town Gay Bar, recently that left me almost yelling obscenities at my mac because that pastor and some other jackass were interviewed for about five minutes too long.

And according to my facebook news feed most of my friends hate this guy as much as we do. So who knows. As my mother, among others, says, you can't fix stupid.