Supreme Court Affirms First Amendment

In an 8-1 decision, the Justices of the Supreme court ruled that the members of the Westboro Baptist Church have a Constitutionally protected right to protest military funerals.


The members of this church engage in vile and despicable behavior, and they are widely hated by most Americans. Even so, the Court had this to say about their speech:


"Speech is powerful. It can stir people to action, move the to tears of both joy and sorrow, and -- as it did here -- inflict great pain," Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in his majority opinion. "On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a nation we have chosen a different course -- to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate."


And there you have it. I fully agree with the Justices. I also hope others exercise their First Amendment rights and tell the Westboro folks what they think.