Comments on: Schieffer on Free Speech and Military Funerals
Asks, If One Cannot Shout "Fire" in Crowded Theater, Must Harassment of the Grieving to Promote a Cause Be Allowed?
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- I know the families of the deceased heros have to take the high road and not get out of line, but i can't help but feel one day the protestors will be one more thing they can't handle and it would be the families right to go off on the protestors. A person can only take so much. I realize that's why they have the Patriot Guards is to shield them, but they see it on tv and have to know how hurtful it is.
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- As a firm believer in Freedom of Speech, I agree with Bob's analogy. There is an injury caused by the Phelps gang. There is only one moment in time when a mother and father lay their child in the ground. When the Phelps gang sully that moment, they injure those parents and siblings and others. For the rest of their life when they experience the pain of losing their son or daughter, they will also experience the pain caused by Phelps. I can't imagine the pain the parents are experiencing who are bringing this case before the high court. Their life has value. You don't think they should have the right to live their lives without some group deciding to target them? Oh and here's the best part, they're being targeted because their son gave his life for this country. Seriously, it just makes me cry.
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- "...Gave his life for his country..." what a laugh. There is nothing in Iraq, or Afghanistan that was, or is a threat to our country, the poor sucker gave his life for the bank accounts of war profiteers, and nothing more... If anything, having your child sent to die on the basis of lies should be far more painful than anything some homophobic group might do when the corpse is being planted, their child wouldn't be a corpse if not for the lies of those who sent him there.
- I do believe in free speach! But, if some parent shot and killed one of the Phelps family protesting their childs burial, and I was on the jury at their trial. I would say not guilty, by reason of 'in the heat of passion' they killed the person!!!!
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- I do believe in free speach! But, if some parent shot and killed one of the Phelps family protesting their childs burial, and I was on the jury at their trial. I would say not guilty, by reason of 'in the heat of passion' they killed the person!!!!
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- I still believe that the first amendment rights of the bereaved to "peacably assemble" trums the first amendment rights of the protesters. Sooner or later someone is going to get fed up with these people and open fire. They present a danger to our society.
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- Does the first amendment trump the ninth amendment?
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- My grandmother was a wise woman. She told me once, and I never forgot, that just because the law says that you can do something, doesn't mean that you should. Decorum is dead. Some things are just wrong. Period. The Phelps' are proof positive that it is usually the morons of society who shout the loudest because their words have no true meaning.
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- as long as they are standing, picketing, on public areas or land they are free to do protest. at polling places, political parties cannot campaign, shows signs within xxx number of feet from the polling location. it's kind of the same thing. it's free speech it's either all or none when it comes to our freedoms. yelling "fire" in a theatre can cause a stampede that leads to patrons being injured, stomped to death, not to mention the false alarm summoning fire trucks. it's really two different things and bob's example does not stand. sure, no one likes people protesting at funerals but it's a freedom. why not protest the churches that support those protestors? show up at the church and scream and yell that they are going to blazes in a hand basket for being false christians or whatever moronic group they belong to these days.
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- The cruelty and disrespect the Phelps exhibit cross the boundary of civilized behavior. If "protesting" aka attacking the survivors of a deceased person is freedom then its time to modify that "freedom" for those who refuse to respect others, those who go out of their way to hurt people even more than they're hurt by the loss of a loved one. As I said earlier. I would extend the modification of "freedom" to include all funerals, not just military funerals.
- It would seem obvious that no Freedom is limitless, or without responsibility. One cannot exercise his own rights by trampling on the rights of others. The question that I have not heard directly asked,by those who so indiscriminately defend "free speech" (and I am a very strong proponent of the 1st amendment), is "what about the rights and freedoms of the mourners?" No one is trying to deny the very questionable Phelps band the right of expressing their - "opinions "- but it would seem to be very clear that harassing mourning families is an abuse, not exercise, of that right. Yell it from your pulpits, write a book, use any of the legitimate venues available to get your message out. But do not sacrifice the rights of others to make a mockery of one of our most treasured beliefs.
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- This is harassment. Plain and simple. I don't buy the freedom of speech theory here and there's such a thing as dignity for the dead regardless of what they died for.
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