Westboro Baptist Church Case Study

Fred Phelps and six of his relatives belonging to the Westboro Baptist Church traveled to Maryland to specifically picket Marine Lance Corporals funeral services to communicate their beliefs that God hates the United States in reference to the military, the Catholic Church, and homosexuality. The church group picketed 30 minutes before the funeral within 1000 feet of the funeral service on public lands in compliance with local authorities [1]. In Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751 S. Ct. 1 (2011), the signs displayed read as follows, e.g., “Fags Doom Nations”, “Thank God for Dead Soldiers,” “Priest Rape Boys,” and “You’re Going to Hell,”…. [2] Funeral goers could not see the signs, although Mr. Snyder was greatly hurt after viewing the newscast that evening and filed action against Phelps and his accomplices within …show more content…
In addition, they were promoting their religious views even though their views are against my moral values. Although, in reading the case, I think the Supreme Court should have held them accountable for inflicting emotional distress due to “outrageous” behavior. I say this because they not only picketed the funeral for media coverage, but they also posted messages on their website relating their views in connection with the Snyder family. Of course, in Justice Breyer’s concurring opinion in Snyder v. Phelps, 09-751 S. Ct. 1 (2011), he discusses how the court did not take the internet postings into account in relation to their actions and speech at the funeral. [13] If one has experienced death of a close family member, I think the experience alone demonstrates how something like this could inflict serious emotional