Jury Awards Father $2.9M in Funeral Case
Sphere: Related ContentBALTIMORE (AP) - A grieving father won a $2.9 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members staged a demonstration at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and
“God hates fags.”
A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries. But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.
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November 1st, 2007 at 8:56 am
Update - the total amount is/was $11 million. The $2.9 is just for actual damages. The rest is punitive etc. The family will, of course, appeal the decision to a higher court. If they can’t get the decision or $ amount overturned by a higher court, they’ll probably bankrupt out of the debt. They are not likely to stop picketing in the mean time.
I suggest that (a) any family member whose loved ones’ funeral is picketed sue them in federal court and (b) the rest of us all ignore them.
If there are enough high dollar judgements entered against them, they will be very busy appealing and fighting in court - leaving a tad less time to be hateful on the streets. Plus, if they DO declare bankruptcy, and are succesfully and again sued after that bankruptcy dischargeis allowed, they won’t be able to discharge the debts from new law suits for another what 15 years??? Since the court case names the church and the individuals, any judgement collections would be made against the assets of both.
I would like to think this win in court would make the family think twice about their tactics. But it won’t. Not one bit. They are zealots. They believe God wants them to act this way. They won’t stop until they die or are incarcertated. But making them poor would be fitting. At least that way they’d have a much harder time flying to places all over the globe, to spread their message of hate.