Westboro Baptist Church of Hate Versus Free Speech

Yeah this issue is pretty complicated. The members of this church are low-lifes. Yet, where does the line of free speech get drawn?

Maybe where the line should be drawn is whether this is more of a trespassing issue verses free speech. Are these people allowed to protest in a private funeral service? I can't come into your home and start screaming "Bush Lied; Kids Died."

That's kinda where I see things. Don't rule on the free speech side, but rule on other things that can prevent this sort of crap. It's like getting Capone on tax evasion.

That's an interesting take. I hadn't thought of that, but I think you're right. My problem with the law passed by Congress and signed by the President is that it deals with national cemeteries, which are public property. Private cemeteries present an entirely different issue.

I have no sympathy for Westboro. Heck, they are happier than Osama Bin Laden is when American soldiers are killed.

But this is a dark day for freedom of speech and the First Amendment. Pretty much any controversial speech is going to offend someone. So how far will this go? Politicians and "activists" of all stripes will leap on this to push more and more speech into actionable offenses.

I think several things are constantly overlooked when the Phelps protests are mentioned.
The most obvious one that is never mentioned is this: What if they are right?
What if God is going to destroy America because of its protection, promotion and even glorification of homosexuality?
God would be completely just to destroy this nation for any number of things even if we didn’t promote homosexuality.
You’re probably thinking “God hates all sin”. True, but God didn’t put a story in the Bible about him wiping out an entire city because didn’t pay their parking tickets.

American Christians too often seem to think that America is the some sort of new Israel and that God can never leave us or forsake us.
Get one thing straight in your mind right now: God doesn’t need America. God can wipe us off the face of the earth and his will will still be done.
If He would allow Israel to be destroyed several times for their sins, how much more would he allow a pagan nation like our own to be destroyed?

If we could go back in time and ask a Christian living in 1890 “What would America have to do for God to judge it to the point of destruction?”
If we told this person that America has killed 50 million unborn babies with the full protection of the law and even paid for with tax dollars.
If we told him that the Bible was outlawed in public schools. That teachers can be fired for having a Bible on their desk.
If we told him that our country now has homosexuals as elected officials and that in every major city America it is impossible to get elected unless you are pro-homosexual.
If we told him most of our military operations for the last 15 years have been to save Muslims from killing each other and on our last one we sent our soldiers to die to establish an Islamic Nation.

What do you think this Christian from 1890 would say?
I don’t think he would say anything. He would just fall over dead from shock.