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"I’m not for profiling people on the color of their skin, or on their religion, but I would take into account where they’ve been traveling and perhaps, you might have to indirectly take into account whether or not they’ve been going to radical political speeches by religious leaders. It wouldn’t be that they are Islamic. But if someone is attending speeches from someone who is promoting the violent overthrow of our government, that’s really an offense that we should be going after — they should be deported or put in prison." - Supposedly libertarian Sen. Rand Paul, who presumably includes revolution-minded teabaggers among those who should be imprisoned.
Bereaved father Albert Snyder, who lost his Supreme Court battle with Westboro Baptist Church earlier this week, says that somebody is inevitably going to open fire on the Phelps family.
"Something is going to happen," Albert Snyder told CNN Thursday. "Somebody is going to get hurt." "You have too many soldiers and Marines coming back with post-traumatic stress syndrome, and they (the Westboro protesters) are going to go to the wrong funeral and the guns are going to go off." "And when it does," Snyder said. "I just hope it doesn't hit the mother that's burying her child or the little girl that's burying her father or mother. It's inevitable." Albert Snyder again slammed the high court justices for not having "the common sense that God gave a goat." "I just can't believe that there was no common sense used in this decision," Snyder said.Snyder must now pay $116K in court costs to the Phelps.
"This [Westboro] ruling is important for many reasons. First and foremost, it preserves the primacy of free speech in America, which benefits us all. But from a parochial pro-LGBT narrative, it’s equally important to note that it proves the lie to the multiple instances when anti-gay activists falsely claimed that advances in LGBT equality and protections — whether they come in the form of marriage equality or hate crimes protections — will result in the infringement of religious and speech rights. They never have and, if this ruling is any indication, it reaffirms the fact that they never will. So the next time someone claims that marriage equality will result in pastors being prosecuted for hate speech, make a note of it: Snyder v Phelps." - Jim Burroway, writing for Box Turtle Bulletin.
The Supreme Court today ruled 8-1 to overturn a $5M judgment against Westboro Baptist Church, saying that the First Amendment protects their right to picket the funerals of military members. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote: "Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and– as it did here– inflict great pain. On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker."
