Westboro Baptist Church Promises To 'Quadruple' Down On Protests After Supreme Court Ruling

A leader of the Westboro Baptist Church told reporters Wednesday that the congregation would "quadruple" the number of funeral protests in the wake of a ruling by the Supreme Court, which found that their controversial demonstrations were protected by the First Amendment, ABC News reports.

Margie J. Phelps, daughter of church leader Fred Phelps and legal counsel for the group, appeared defiant and emboldened by the high court's decision during an interview Wednesday.

"Let me tell you what this church does: Shut up all that talk about infliction of emotional distress," she Phelps said, in response to the claim by Albert Snyder, father of slain marine Matthew Snyder, which had provided the impetus for the lawsuit. "When you're standing there with your young child's body bits and pieces in a coffin, you've been dealt some emotional distress by the Lord your God."

The Westboro Baptist Church has repeatedly drawn controversy with its inflammatory picketing efforts, which often include bright signs displaying slogans such as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God For Dead Soldiers." The congregation most recently drew fire in January for announcing that it would demonstrate at the funerals of those killed in the Arizona shootings, though it eventually backed down on plans to protest at the service of the youngest victim, 9-year-old Christina Taylor Green.

Phelps on Wednesday defended Westboro's practice as one that reflects their own religious beliefs, and not one that others should be allowed to view through their own "objective" standards.

"I very much appreciate the fact that I get to be the mouth of God in this matter," she told reporters.

Comments

[Nimo Cani]

04:49 PM on 04/20/2011

Please, read - the thoughts of a young man:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/7876718/tolerance_manifesto.html?cat=9

[maggienice]

11:38 PM on 03/10/2011

Of all the organizations existing in the past few years, I think that The Westboro Baptist Church is the most disgusting, outrageous,evil organization. I cannot imagine how anyone can say "Thank God for dead soldiers". The mentality of these people is frightening. Resolution is hopless...you cannot reason with an unreasonable person. So much energy channeled into hate.

[Kenny12554]

11:36 PM on 03/05/2011

Whatever happened to just a good ole fashion "ass whipping?" I live in a small East Texas Town and these sick people notified the town counsel they would be picketing one of our fallen hero's funerals here, Our "police chief" (that's right, our Police Chief) returned their phone call and instructed them "of course it is your RIGHT to picket." "BUT UNDERSTAND, OUR DEPARTMENT WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTS PROVOKED BY YOUR PEOPLE NOR ARE WE OBLIGATED TO PROVIDE PROTECTION FOR YOUR GROUP!" WE ARE A SMALL TOWN AND HAVE ONLY 4 OFFICERS...BUT A HELL OF LOT HONEST PEOPLE WHO DON'T LIKE WHAT YOU ARE DOING. So...with in mind, sure thing!! Come right ahead and picket till your little heart's are content!" Guess what happend? The cowards NEVER SHOWED UP and our fallen hero was buried with full honors and respect!

[Ex Marine]

04:50 PM on 03/05/2011

I am glad I do not have to deal with the death of a loved one right now.
I can say however that if I were in those circumstances and these people showed up, there are not enough police, supreme court rulings, or justices that could stand between me and them to prevent me from making them wish they had just stayed in bed that day.
I wonder if anyone at this church has passed away since they started all of this. If it happens, someone please let me know so I can be present outside the funeral.

[ojellod]

03:59 PM on 03/05/2011

Won't these "Christians" be surprised when they die and are turned away at those "golden gates" and thrown into the bowels of the earth to be tormented for eternity by hellfire and damnation. Wish I could be there to see it....probably not nearly as bad as they deserve. Total pigs. (though I don't mean to denigrate pigs here!)

[Ortho Stice]

03:48 PM on 03/05/2011

As loathsome as Phelps and his crew are, they are really not deserving of this much attention. His "group" picketed the high school where I work because we have an LGBT group. They chose their protest on a day that they knew school would not be in session—very courageous.

Nevertheless, Westboro supporters were outnumbered 250-7 by kids who showed up at 7:45 a.m. on their day off to stage a counter-protest. Phelps' merry band of hate mongers left after about a half hour.

WBC is really just Phelps and his extended family, less than a dozen people at full strength. They are not worthy of all this coverage.

P.S. Phelps' website name spawned several makeshift tee-shirts that read, "God hates flags," "God hates frogs," and "God hates fogs" a backpack that said, "God hates bags."

[William Litten]

02:20 PM on 03/05/2011

Hey! Village Idiots picketing fallen soldiers' funerals....Yeah, I'm talking to you! Do you know WHY you are allowed to do that? BECAUSE THE DEAD SOLDIER YOU ARE TRASHING, GAVE HIS OR HER LIFE SO YOU WOULD HAVE THE FREEDOM TO EXPRESS YOUR STUPIDITY! Feel free to copy and post-I did because I wasn't afraid to express my undying gratitude to every single service person past, present and future!

[Black 14th]

01:51 PM on 03/05/2011

Her's a good idea- take a page out of the Rolling Stones playbook: Hire the Hell's Angels to work security for every fallen soldier's funeral. Nothing else, "JUST" security. The wait for WBC to show up, and watch the hijinx ensue.

[PaleHorse08]

01:22 PM on 03/05/2011

Firebombs!!! Not friebombs, although that would be amusing...

[Martin Moriarty]

12:42 PM on 03/05/2011

Amazing how many people can't understand the 8 to 1 vote by the Supreme Court supporting WBC's right to protest. Obviously the First Amendment is meant to protect unpopular opinions. Those who call unpopular opinions "abusing freedom a speech" are clueless as to the meaning of free speech.

[Ex Marine]

05:00 PM on 03/05/2011

I understand it. I even agree with the ruling.
I also believe in common decency toward other people that have done nothing wrong like the families of these soldiers. Having been a soldier, and to see what these people do, I can put aside and rationalize what my personal response to them would be. I would also be willing to accept the responsibility for my actions.
It isn't just that they are exercising their right to free speech. It is that they are using that right to inflict pain and suffering on people that are already hurting. Nothing more. Pure shock value.

You may have the right to do something as injurious to me as protest my loved one's funeral and insult the brave service of our fallen. You may have the right to inflict emotional pain on people at their weakest moment. You may have the right to spew hate to good people. Yes, you have all of those rights because some people went out and died to preserve them for you, not just because some judges said you could.
I dare you to exercise that right at the funeral of someone I love.

[Martin Moriarty]

07:29 PM on 03/05/2011

It gets frustrating when people don't understand that people died to preserve the very freedom Fred Phelps and his so-called church are exercising. If Phelps doesn't have freedom of speech no one does. Even in North Korea you are allowed to say things that won't offend anybody. We don't need a right to agree, we need a right to disagree. And Fred Phelps is being as disagreeable as he possibly can be.

The worst thing we can do to Phelps is ignore him. He feeds on attention. Obviously. Starve him out.

[Mikey Cogswell]

12:42 PM on 03/05/2011

They come to my city a few times a year and I thought of making a sigh reading "I love everybody" but I realized ANY sort of attention is positive for the so just drive past and ignore them. It's the best thing you can do. They need attention and when you give it to them they win.

[Troy Weaver]

12:04 PM on 03/05/2011

The Patriot Guard is the only thing that works against the wbc... Check it out.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DZbix25Oy0

To join is free. Strength in numbers. Standing for those who stood for us!
http://www.patriotguard.org/
or in Kansas, The Original Patriot Guard
http://www.patriotguardks.org/

[Chris1962]

03:42 PM on 03/05/2011

God bless these bikers.

[NEWSWOMAN]

11:39 AM on 03/05/2011

The Westboro group are not a church, not a Christian one, anyway. They are just a political action group and should be treated that way. I understand 'free speech', but I thought you paid a price for 'hate speech'. I guess not.

[ThinkAboutItAgain]

01:39 PM on 03/05/2011

Correct, but it's only considered hate speech if it comes from somewhere other than the Left. The Left, however, can say whatever they want, because they know better than everyone else.

[NEWSWOMAN]

02:18 PM on 03/05/2011

Got a chip on your shoulder, Thinkaboutit? Hate speech is the only speech that the rightwingers know. Think Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck. Look it up.

[Chris1962]

03:43 PM on 03/05/2011

Only if you're on the Right.

[J A F O]

10:57 AM on 03/05/2011

"I very much appreciate the fact that I get to be the mouth of God in this matter," she told reporters

What absolute ARROGANCE!

[Bellerina]

10:19 AM on 03/05/2011

I didn't even think of it like that. But well said. Its so inhuman in so many ways, on so many levels for any culture or religion. They have it coming and it'll be horrific.