Here is more:
Westboro Baptist Church pastor and founder Fred Phelps and members of his congregation picketed Matthew's funeral, holding signs expressing anti-gay, anti-American, and anti-Catholic slogans, including "God hates you" and "You're going to hell."
Westboro Baptist Church also posted an essay on its website entitled "The Burden of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder." In the essay, statements indicated that Albert and his wife “raised [Matthew] for the devil,” “RIPPED that body apart and taught Matthew to defy his Creator, to divorce, and to commit adultery,” “taught him how to support the largest pedophile machine in the history of the entire world, the Roman Catholic monstrosity,” and “taught Matthew to be an idolator.”
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/snyder-v-phelps
At what point is something stated in the name of religion wrong? Should someone be able to issue false or misleading statements verbally or in writing about someone else in the name of religion? Could statements like the ones quoted above be considered persecution of another religion (Catholicism)?
Turning the tables, would you accept homosexuals coming to boycott a family funeral, holding signs that state "America hates Apostolics," and "Holy rollers to hell"? If groups of homosexuals came and held a demonstration in blatantly homosexual clothing and actions, in front of your church, would that be free speech? What if the most dearly loved child in your church just died of a sudden illness or injury and they came with signs saying that you killed that child? Free speech or not?
Our church was vandalized a few years ago. I remember the shock of seeing the words emblazoned on the wood and stone, how invaded we felt that our church would be damaged as it was. The vandalism cost hours of labor, but little expense to clean up. Was it vandalism, or simply someone exercising their right to free speech, to write "go to hell" or worse across our front doors?
The damage Phelps is doing doesn't cost more than the vandalism to our building did, outwardly. But the damage is there and has been done, all the same. A funeral is a sacred, one time event. How many times has someone lost a loved one and felt so encouraged when others told the person what a beautiful funeral it was and how well they did in "sending off" the loved one?
How wrong to take a person's sacred time of mourning or celebration of a life lived and destroy it for personal gain and notoriety... especially in the name of religion.
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