Testing our integrity

The timeless battle between legality and ethicality will rage again this Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court begins hearing arguments regarding the Westboro Baptist Church’s controversial picketing of military funerals.

In 2006, the church picketed the funeral of Albert Snyder’s son, Matthew Snyder, a Marine who was killed in Iraq, with banners saying “God hates fags” and “Thank God for dead soldiers.”

“It’s an insult to myself, my family and the veterans to say this is what our military men and women died for,” Snyder said.

While almost no one disagrees that the invective protests are repugnant, the debate rises in whether or not they are legal.

Snyder filed a lawsuit soon after his son’s funeral accusing Rev. Fred Phelps and his followers of intentionally inflicting emotional distress. He won $11 million at trial, later reduced by a judge to $5 million.

Afterward, the federal appeals court in Richmond, Va., threw out the verdict, citing that the Constitution protected the church members from any liability.

The idea that the picketers’ rights might trump his own led Snyder to continue the lawsuit.

“They want to use the First Amendment as both a sword and a shield, and that’s not right,” he said.

Numerous states have already enacted laws limiting the right to protest at funerals, including Indiana. If the Supreme Court rules in favor of Snyder, it will set a federal precedent limiting the scope of the First Amendment.

While actions of the Westboro Baptist Church are abhorrent to even the most staunch free speech advocates, it is absolutely necessary that the Supreme Court rules in favor of the Phelps family.

By preventing a small, radical minority from expressing their views, no matter how unpopular or repulsive they may seem, the government would be violating the very essence of the First Amendment. It is simply unconstitutional.

The beauty of America is based on the idea that our Constitution provides for the protection of the minority from the tyranny of the majority.

This concept has been embedded in our cultural DNA since the very beginning of our history, dating all the way back to the time of the Puritans landing in Massachusetts.

While it is a tragedy, there are those who feel the need to disrupt the sanctity of a funeral, let alone a military funeral, it is the duty of our government to uphold the integrity of our Constitution at all times, regardless of how unpopular it may seem.