The Price of Free Speech

Emma

Posting Number 1

Topic: Civil Rights

Title: The Price of Free Speech

Writer: Sean Gregory

Publication Name: Time Magazine (printed)

Date of Publication: October 4th issue

Word Count: Around 2,800

Main Idea:

The legal battle of Snyder v. Phelps (of the Westboro Baptist Church) will finally reach a decision in the Supreme Court on Oct. 6. Phelps, the founder and leader of the Westboro Baptist Church is well known to the media and public for his numerous "anti-gay", "anti-US soldier" and "anti-America" picketing ventures with his family and followers across the US, and more specifically, at various military funerals. Albert Snyder, father of the deceased Corporal Matthew Snyder, sued Phelps in March of 2006 when the Westboro Baptist Church protested at his son's funeral. The following year in October 2007, the federal jury found Westboro members liable for intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy, awarding Snyder a total of 5 million dollars for compensation and damages. Two years later, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals overturned this verdict, arguing free-speech protection for the protesters and forcing Snyder to pay the Phelps $16,500 in legal fees. Aside from public outrage, this instigated a long-term battle over free speech rights and the question of "where to draw the line?". So far, attorneys general from 48 states and a 1988 Supreme Court decision to ban picketing at private residences support Snyder's rights to hold a peaceful funeral. However, the ACLU, free-speech advocates as well as numerous media organizations support the Westboro's claim on the first amendment. There have been other supreme court decisions in the past that also support Westboro Baptist Church, such as one in which neo-Nazis were allowed to rally in Skokie IL (a city home to many Holocaust survivors), or another in which the court declared that a KKK leader could freely practice hate speech at a rally. Finding legitimate violations of law for Phelp's actions has been difficult as well: the use of messages that say, "God hates you" or "God hates the U.S.A." are often too vague to be defined as libel and are completely protected by religious and personal freedom. of expression Despite the overwhelming public support and sympathy for Snyder, his claim is yet to be resolved and he faces a great challenge in getting the Supreme Court to limit free speech- a decision that has rarely been made in the past.

Conclusion: In summary, the long anticipated verdict of "the limits of free speech" will be settled on two weeks from now in the Supreme Court. On one hand, the vast majority of the public and state legislation supports Snyder, a victim of the Westboro hate group. On the other hand, previous Supreme Court decisions mainly support Phelps along with media organizations who will be also be restricted in their entitlements to the first amendment if the decision is ruled in favor of Snyder.

Opinion: As a student of a school that was personally affected by the actions of the Westboro Baptist Church, I can deeply sympathize with Al Snyder- a man who was forced to passively endure the hurtful messages of Phelps' group; messages that cast a permanent mark on the living memory of his son and desecrated the ceremony intended to honor him. What is more incensing is the fact that Phelps has reaped an enormous amount of profit from taking advantage of people like Snyder and enjoys doing so, as was made clear by his interview from the Times. I greatly admire Snyder for his brave efforts and persistence in bringing this group to justice and ending the reign of Phelps' "psychological terror" upon innocent people who are already impacted by the presence of one tragedy in their lives. I hope for the best in the final verdict and that the Supreme Court will find a way to preserve free speech while restricting the hurtful actions of hate groups such as the Westboro Baptist Church.