Snyder v Phelps

WASHINGTON -- The controversial, gay-hating Westboro Baptist Church would be restricted from holding its inflammatory protests outside the funerals of...

The First Amendment reflects a uniquely strong aversion to government censorship of any kind. Galliano, if he lived in New York, could not be prosecuted for giving vent to his bigoted views.

There he is, sitting on an army jeep in a tiny photograph that my grandmother had asked me to enlarge for her. She now has this picture on her wall. T...

Legal scholars and others will agree or disagree on the fine points of the law, but in the battle for hearts and minds, Al Snyder won the day he took a stand.

For every Westboro Church protest, there is a debate on legitimate public policy or government abuse that also demands protection.

Snyder v. Phelps, the Westboro funeral protest case, places before us a choice between the legal right of free speech with the ethical value of respect.

Using free speech to intentionally and maliciously inflict pain, harm and emotional distress on others, should have legal consequences.

Last Friday (Oct. 8) I published a commentary discussing the case Snyder v. Phelps currently before the U.S. Supreme Court; a case that, at first glan...

In Snyder v. Phelps, what of the grieving families? Are they not entitled to the respect, privacy and dignity accorded individuals at a time of great anguish?

A funeral is an occasion at which mourners should be free to grieve without having to confront offensive messages. As a matter of common sense, this is reasonable. As a matter of First Amendment law, however, it is flat-out wrong.

Pastor Fred Phelps led the congregation that gained notoriety in recent years for picketing the funerals of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan. He spoke with me about hell, homosexuality, and the Supreme Court.

WASHINGTON — Forty-eight states and the District of Columbia have submitted a brief to the Supreme Court in support of a father who sued anti-ga...

Fred Phelps and his "church" are the ones who arrive at various places and events all across the country, waving hate-filled signs which convey his belief that God hates the US, homosexuals, the U.S. military, and dead American soldiers.