This is disgusting. These pathetic losers from the Westboro Baptist Church are a stain on society and the US. Any court should recognize that maybe common sense and human decency should for once dictate in ruling like this? Because if they don’t, then I could see this protest method gaining traction, and we will see even more disgusting examples of freedom of speech gone horribly wrong.
Now if they say that the ruling should stand, and this father should pay, then that’s that. If I was that father, I would do the time in prison or whatever for not paying and be highly vocal once in the joint. He would become a martyr, and it will surely make a mockery of the justice system–every day he serves. It is as ridiculous as holding a court martial for the Navy SEALs who punched the terrorist in the stomach, after the animal was responsible for killing, mutilating and hanging from a bridge, the Blackwater contractors in Fallujah. What the hell is going on? –Matt
Edit: Please join the Facebook Page in support of the Snyder Family in their fight against the WBC.
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Marine’s dad ordered to pay protesters’ court fees
March 30, 2010
BALTIMORE — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters was ordered to pay the protesters’ appeal costs, his lawyers said Monday.
On Friday, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006.
The two-page decision supplied by attorneys for Albert Snyder of York, Pa., offered no details on how the court came to its decision.
Attorneys also said Snyder is struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision adds “insult to injury,” said Sean Summers, one of Snyder’s lawyers.
The high court agreed to consider whether the protesters’ message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.
Story here.
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Marine’s Father Will Not Pay Court-Ordered Funeral Protesters’ Fees
March 30, 2010
The father of a Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters told Fox News he will defy a court order and not pay the protesters’ appeal costs.
The father of a Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters told Fox News he will defy a court order and not pay the protesters’ appeal costs.
Albert Snyder, of York, Pa., told Fox News he does not intend to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps, the leader of Kansas’ Westboro Baptist Church, which held protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006.
“I don’t think I’m going to be writing a check until I hear from the Supreme Court,” Snyder told Fox News on Tuesday. “I’m not about to pay them anything.”
The Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder on Friday to pay Phelps. A two-page decision supplied by his attorneys offered no details on how the court came to its decision.
The decision adds “insult to injury,” said Sean Summers, one of Snyder’s attorneys.
Snyder is also struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court, his attorneys said.
The high court agreed to consider whether the protesters’ message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.
A federal appeals court dismissed the suit on First Amendment grounds earlier this month and threw out a $5 million award against the protesters, some of whom carried signs that read “God Hates You” and “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”
A funeral for the fallen Marline was held in March 2006 in Westminster, Md. Snyder, 20, died from a non-combat-related vehicle accident on March 3, 2006, while supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
According to a Web site created in Snyder’s honor, his relatives filed the civil lawsuit against the Westboro Baptist Church to “bring an end to the reign of terror and abuse that they inflicted” upon grieving families of U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“Using innocent children to deliver their twisted message of hatred and fear, the defendants in this suit have sought to attack the memory of our departed heroes, to strip their loved one of dignity, and to use abuse and intimidation as a tool for preventing surviving family members from reaching closure over their loss,” the Web site read.
Cathy Menefee, Snyder’s sister, told the Baltimore Sun in 2006 that her brother had an unwavering sense of responsibility that led to his decision to join the military.
“It sounds so cliche, but he died doing what he wanted to do,” Menefee told the paper. “He always wanted to be a Marine.”
Story here.