Joined: Dec 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 9,151 Location: Out of this Universe Karma: 58
Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Church « Thread Started on Nov 2, 2007, 1:16pm »
Rarely will you hear me talk about my personal beliefs, but at this moment, I feel I should say something...I don't think I have ever held distain for a church out right till now. Granted I do not believe in church, I think it is a organized system to establish its own views and perceptions and to cypher money from its followers. This is not to say I do not believe in faith and the right to freedom of religion...I just do not believe you have to attend a church or follow a set rules of religion...but I digress....I heard about this situation over the news and was utterly sickened.
Imagine attending a funeral for a family member who died in war. You are already mourning when you see picketers standing outside what is suppose to be a private, quiet and respectful ceromony carrying signs like "God Hates You", "God Hates f*gs" , "Semper Fi f*gs" , Thank God for dead soldiers."...How would you feel, what would you do?
Well this is exactly what happened to Albert Snyder, father of Lance Cpl Matthew Snyder, a Marine killed in Iraq.
A Christian group members of Westboro Baptist Church had done just this. They contend that the deaths are punishments from God for America's tolerance of Homosexualtiy and of gays in the military.
The lawsuit erupted into a constituational debate over the 1st Admendment. Needless to say the Snyder family won, but Westboro is already to appeal...Summers said he was ready and waiting for the appeal. "We will chase them until they have nothing left."
So the question I ask you is, Did the church have a 1st Admendement right to picket or did the family have a right to privacy and where and how should the line be drawn?
Personally, I am glad to see someone win against a church. For so long people have used the excuse of the church's beleifs to commit some heiness crimes..and I challenge anyone to disagree....Snyder is an inspiration in my eyes, a man who stodd against a church and let the people know....and won nearly $11 million in compensatory, punitive damages...Perhaps church everywhere will think twice about thier actions and know that they can be touch, and that their can be coinsequences....I also think that actions such as this Kansas Westboro Church is why people are seeking spirituality elsewhere....
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #1 on Nov 4, 2007, 9:38am »
I read the whole article and it's absolutely disgusting! That Phelps family should be locked up and their children taken away. Teaching your child religious hatred like that should be considered child abuse. The soldier wasn't even gay, they were prostesting the fact that there are gays in the military!
Joined: Dec 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 9,151 Location: Out of this Universe Karma: 58
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #2 on Nov 4, 2007, 11:31am »
Well apparently this particualr group travelled all over the country doing what they did here for a good while now. I have heard of protesters near funerals, but never to this degree, so it isnt new... I am just glad that the courts finally stood up and recognized that there is a problem.
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #3 on Nov 5, 2007, 10:25pm »
Quote:
I don't think I have ever held distain for a church out right till now.
Translation: You had never heard of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church till now.
They've been doing this for years, if not decades.
Since this is an older crowd, does anyone remember the murder of Matthew Shepard? Gay man beaten and left to die outside Laramie Wyoming? The Phelps gang was there too, holding up signs saying that Matthew was burning in hell.
The Amish school shooting last year? They said it was punishment for something the governor of Pennsylvania against them. The only thing that kept them from protesting the funeral was that a talk radio host agreed to let them have his timeslot so they could spread their message. (I'm not sure for how long exactly.)
Liberal and Mainstream churches object to what Phelps and family is doing. I also believe most of the conservative groups who condemn homosexuality also condemn Phelps.
They've got less than 100 members and most of those members are part of the Phelps family. Also, a major share of them are lawyers specialized in 1st amendment rights.
Please do not think that they speak for anyone but themselves.
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #4 on Nov 6, 2007, 7:00am »
I remember hearing about the Matthew Sheppard murder, and I'm in Canada.
I agree about the Phelps clan, the problem is, is that the media is giving them exactly what they want. Exposure. By allowing them to speak on the radio they're giving in to their hatred and bulling. Had they picked outside the Amish funerals, infront of a national and international audience, I think would of allowed more of the country to see their hatefull ness and perhaps put an end to them once and for all.
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #5 on Nov 6, 2007, 12:30pm »
But could you really do that?
Could you force families who want nothing, or at least little, to do with the outside world to face that picket line just on a hope that it would end up getting them to stop?
And if it didn't stop them?
Oh, and I found where I read that. It's a local free periodical. The Pitch. Volume 26, No.17. November 2-8, 2006.
"This year, it seems, the family's efforts have been more aggressive than ever. "For example, blood was still fresh in the one-room Pennsylvania schoolhouse when Westboro members announced their plans to go to Nickel Mines and thank God for the murders of five Amish schoolgirls. "Cable news commentators fumed with indignation. At the last minute, [Shirley] Phelps-Roper struck a deal with syndicated talk-radio host Mike Gallagher, who offered the Phelpses an hour of airtime if they'd call off the picket. The conservative Gallagher said he made the bargain to spare the Amish family members more pain."
I'm not sure how giving them national media attention picketing the Amish funerals would have helped stopped them. Of course, making a deal with them to not picket the funerals does help inflate their egos.
While not giving them media exposure would probably help quiet them, I'm not sure how long that'll take to go into effect if people ever getting around to realizing that. Mostly I'm hoping we don't hear about them in a few months and hear that the case has been successfully appealed.
Joined: Dec 2004 Gender: Female Posts: 9,151 Location: Out of this Universe Karma: 58
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #6 on Nov 6, 2007, 2:30pm »
Quote:
Quote:
I don't think I have ever held distain for a church out right till now.
Translation: You had never heard of Fred Phelps and Westboro Baptist Church till now.
They've been doing this for years, if not decades.
Since this is an older crowd, does anyone remember the murder of Matthew Shepard? Gay man beaten and left to die outside Laramie Wyoming? The Phelps gang was there too, holding up signs saying that Matthew was burning in hell.
The Amish school shooting last year? They said it was punishment for something the governor of Pennsylvania against them. The only thing that kept them from protesting the funeral was that a talk radio host agreed to let them have his timeslot so they could spread their message. (I'm not sure for how long exactly.)
Liberal and Mainstream churches object to what Phelps and family is doing. I also believe most of the conservative groups who condemn homosexuality also condemn Phelps.
They've got less than 100 members and most of those members are part of the Phelps family. Also, a major share of them are lawyers specialized in 1st amendment rights.
Please do not think that they speak for anyone but themselves.
I have heard of these situations, but I focused more on the primary story...I knew that there were picketers, but I never really paid them no mind, truth be told...The Matthew incident and the Amish shooting always remained front in my mind...I think I would have been disgusted then if I had seen it....
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #7 on Nov 6, 2007, 2:33pm »
But if they had picketed, and shown the country what jerks there were, it could of started a fire under the state prosecutor's butt and maybe gotten these people put in jail or something. Maybe someting might of been done that would of had a more impact on them. The government isn't useless, they can make their lives miserable and no amount of lawyering can save them.
Free speach has it's limits and these people pooped all over the first amendmen.
I agree it would of been horrible had they picketted. No one deverses that. But to say that the deaths were justified because they were amish! That is not free speech.
Joined: Mar 2005 Gender: Male Posts: 4,945 Karma: 33
Re: Father of Soldier wins case against Baptist Ch « Reply #8 on Nov 27, 2007, 11:54am »
Phelp's are bad news. I'v found there family web site..and I won't place it up here but it's not that hard to search engine it if you are just dieing to see it. Actually, I'v seen a lot of hate sites but that place makes my skin crawl. Litterally, which is a pretty interesting acheivement really.
I'm glad that he won and I'm glad that alot of the Governer's in the most hit states by these groups have in acted laws. I don't care if the soldier was gay or straight or whatever...the family does deserve respect but once again these people think that they have the true source and that means you should follow them. I also to want to say this that at least 80 percent of that family "ministeries" is actually there own family. LMAO. I mean there all blood related so in spectrum there not that powerful. I also too find it funny that the main sister's they are in charge of the family and litigation are actually Civil Rights Lawyer's.
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