Freedom of Speech is Limited

A phony preacher who works hard to make people mad enough to attack him so he can sue them has, himself been sued, and he lost: "(CNN) -- A federal jury in Baltimore, Maryland, Wednesday awarded $10.9 million to a father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by members of a fundamentalist church carrying signs blaming soldiers' deaths on America's tolerance of homosexuals. The family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder -- who was killed in a vehicle accident in Iraq's Anbar province in 2006 -- sued the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas, and its leaders for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress. Church members showed up at Snyder's funeral chanting derogatory slogans and holding picket signs with messages including ''God Hates Fags.' They've picketed the funerals of dozens of troops killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, claiming that God is punishing the United States because of its tolerance for homosexuality." The "Reverend" says this judgment will not affect future demonstrations. But I predict it will. I don't think this pitifully small church has enough money to pay very many such judgments, so he'll have to demonstrate in a different way in the future. So he and his congregation hate gays. So what, so long as they don't let that cause them to hurt people at the worst time in their lives. I think this is the best way to handle such "demonstrations." Don't hit him in the nose. Hit him in the wallet. That works better. Mr. Snyder might just end up owning this church. (CNN, 10/31/07)