Comments on: Breaking: Father of slain Marine wins case against foul Phelps family

By: jitsusoji

jitsusoji — Mon, 05 Nov 2007 15:12:55 +0000

The Phelps should pack up and move to Iran. After all, the Iranian president can assure them – Iran doesn’t have any homosexuals!

This legal smackdown is long overdue.

By: RealImmigrantChick

RealImmigrantChick — Sun, 04 Nov 2007 16:33:27 +0000

I thought I heard on O’Reilly that the founder of this so called church is a registered democrat. That would make so much sense. As to free speech, so many people misunderstand what freedom of speech actually means. It is not some balnket ability to do and say as one wishes. The first amendment was meant to ensure that political and religious speech were protected FROM THE GOVERNMET. Of course, some lib courts, including lib supreme courts, have stretched it out quite a bit, but still, there are many limits on what one can do and say. And a private citizen has every right to sue these scums. Satan often tries to infiltrate the Church, and this is one example. These people should be sued over and over again, keep them so busy and broke that they cannot defile other soldiers’ funerals. They think they can use laws, well, I just hope more and more families use the law to sue them and take every penny they have.

By: mattsanchez

mattsanchez — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 23:40:00 +0000

You can’t keep a good Marine down. Ever.

By: Kimmer

Kimmer — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 22:04:00 +0000

The Phelps family has the right to say what they wish; nobody is denying them that right. What is at issue here is the time and place at which their speech is presented. Try saying “I have a gun” at an airport and see how free your speech is.

Furthermore, Phelps’s website contained many despicable untruths about the soldier and his family, and this is a source of much of the lawsuit.

By: Grey Fox

Grey Fox — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:14:47 +0000

It was the Pro-life movement I was thinking of when I asked if they had done anything beyond holding signs. The Pro-Abortion folks have already used racketeering laws to destroy their opponents – I don’t want them to get any other ways to hurt us through this decision (though I suspect that they might find the equation of military funerals and abortions to be difficult to reconcile with the argument that it is “just a tissue blob.”)

Englishqueen01,
morally, the Phelps and the Pro-life movement cannot be equated, but some people might find a legal way to do so…

By: englishqueen01

englishqueen01 — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:26:35 +0000

If you substitute “military funeral” for “abortion clinic,” many of you would be freaking out.

Just wrong, wrong, wrong Rusty.

As pgtips said, provoking women who are considering abortion does nothing.

Contrary to what the left and the MSM would have people believe, pro-lifers are not just concerned with the unborn, but their mothers (and everyone from conception to natural death).

Protesters who call women “muderers” and other pejoratives do nothing. Nutters who bomb abortion clinics do nothing and are vile, terrible people.

Showing the women that we care about their mental/emotional and physical health, that we’re willing to help them find financial/medical resources and adoption agencies, and other resources, and showing them that their child is a chlid and not a “lump of cells” is far more effective than being violent…because it’s the truth.

So don’t even equate what the Phelps clan does with the pro-life movement.

By: pgtips

pgtips — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:03:17 +0000

If you substitute “military funeral” for “abortion clinic,” many of you would be freaking out.

Uhm… I don’t know what planet you live on, but if I saw people holding picket signs outside and abortion clinic calling the people there “Murderers”, I’d go up and have words with them. While I am against abortion, I am fully aware that many people who do go ahead with an abortion have enough on their minds and are emotional enough, without wackos trying to provoke them.

No, none of us would be freaking out. There is no reason to equate the horribly disturbed protests that the Phelps carried out with anything to do with abortion clinics.

By: Michelle Malkin » Fallen Marine’s father speaks; foul Phelps clan to appeal

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:59:22 +0000

[...] speaks to the York (Pa.) Daily Record about his victory over the foul Phelps family, which–if yesterday’s jury verdict holds–must pay $11 million in compensation and punitive damages for its invasive protest at [...]

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:26:39 +0000

And I referred to “Hill v. Colorado” as “Miller.”

Man, I need lunch.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:24:50 +0000

If you substitute “military funeral” for “abortion clinic,” many of you would be freaking out.

Strike that, reverse it.

By: Rusty

Rusty — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:23:14 +0000

Victory? Are you all crazy? This is a huge blow to the First Amendment.

If you substitute “military funeral” for “abortion clinic,” many of you would be freaking out.

There is obviously no debate that the Phelps family is crazy and repugnant. But the First Amendment applies to the crazy and repugnant as much as it does to you and I.

This reminds me of one of the worst Supreme Court decisions in recent memory, Hill v. Colorado. Now, I’m pro-choice and all, but this case drives me crazy.

I recommend reading Scalia’s dissent and applying it to this Phelps case. Just because protesters are repugnant doesn’t mean they don’t have rights. The Court dropped the ball on Miller. Hopefully this dreadful Phelps decision will give the Court an opportunity to defend the First Amendment from these ridiculous decisions.

By: Bogtrotter

Bogtrotter — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:55:08 +0000

yohanbiimu post#61…..You beat me to it. I have had the same suspician for a long time. One thing I gotta say is America is a truly tolerant country. If it were anything but that these creatures would have been removed from the scene long ago. One good thing, as a “family” cult their infestation of the general gene pool is thankfully limited.

By: Fred Phelps And Family Go Down HARD — Jury Awards $11M To Father Of Slain Marine

Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:34:44 +0000

[...] them: Pam’s House Blend (Left); Firedoglake (Left); Hot Air (Right); Stop The ACLU! (Right); Michelle Malkin (Right); Captain’s Quarters (Right); Drudge Retort (Left); PoliBlog (Perhaps, SLIGHTLY left [...]

By: swj719AWG

swj719AWG — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:30:05 +0000

On October 31st, 2007 at 7:26 pm, Jay777 said:
What a Haloween treat

Masterchief giveth, and the Master Chief taketh away…

I don’t think ALL of the 10.9 million will withstand appeal. I suspect the 6 million for “invasion of privacy” will hold (though I dunno, it might), but I would be shocked if the rest was over turned.

Congrats to the family of this Hero.

As Patton said, I’ll not mourn his passing, but instead thank God that men such as he lived.

By: Readymade

Readymade — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 14:28:03 +0000

The Phelps clan is not only a disgrace to the religion they claim to profess, but also a disgrace to humanity. It’s great to see some measure of justice finally come down.