Last week's decision by the United States Supreme Court, affirming the rights of the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church to spew hatred at military funer...
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...
While Geller may not have the knowledge of Jewish text and tradition to become a rabbi, she is creating an edifice of hate all unto her own and building a congregation of hate-filled followers.
Palin, who has repeatedly botched the meaning of the First Amendment, had the audacity to school eight of the nine Supreme Court justices, including the very conservative chief justice, on the First Amendment.
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.
It seems to me that, since we must live with Westboro, we may as well learn something from it. Can a church that preaches savage hatred really have anything to teach us? Yes.
Washburn University sophomore Zach Phelps-Roper spent his Wednesday morning like many other college students: glued to his cell phone. But he wasn't getting texts about last night's party -- he was waiting for a ruling from the Supreme Court.
Chief Justice Roberts said the Founding Fathers designed the First Amendment to encourage shouting matches not just at funerals, but at wakes and morgues.
When the boundaries between helpful and harmful speech are unenforceable, what can we do, in church or state, to reinforce and protect those recognized boundaries?
As 2010 comes to a close, it's clear that this year offered few favors for the American Muslim identity or reputation. Indeed, Pew reports that Muslims in America had a higher approval rating after 9/11 than in 2010.
It's worth acknowledging that what Fred Phelps does is just an extreme example of what society does to women on a daily basis. Any woman who shows independent agency in her childbearing decisions is open to questions and even vilification.
Popular speech doesn't need protection. Nor does popular religious belief. Seeing the Westboro Baptist Church protesting is (at the very, very least) a sign of our freedom.
After my post Friday morning about how to combat Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptists, one of the many who commented linked to this press release on ...
What can be done about the Westboro Baptist Church's protests of military funerals? Take refuge in the 2006 law banning protests within 300 feet of national cemeteries, and above all, do not engage with them.
It's easy to shrug off responsibility when you figure God is in the driver's seat. But what if God's grant of free will to humanity includes full responsibility for what happens next? What if the evidence suggests that God isn't even aboard the bus?