Despicable

What cruel hatred would motivate a self-proclaimed "man of God" to organize protests at the funerals of slain soldiers?

The time, day and date of the funeral of fallen Opelika soldier Sgt. Christopher J. Taylor hasn’t been made public, but already the Kansas minister bound to picket and protest is alerting media of his intent to be here for the funeral.

The Rev. Fred Phelps, the controversial man who has led disruptive anti-gay protests at funerals all over the country, claims Taylor and other soldiers were killed with improvised explosive devices as part of retaliation by God against the United States for allowing "gays" to bomb his church, Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas.

Taylor, 22, died after being hit by mortar rounds while exiting a bunker in Balad, Iraq, July 24, according to the U.S. Department of Defense.

Phelps sent media releases out Monday confirming that he and his group will be here in force Saturday at 2 p.m., even though no funeral information has been confirmed by the Taylor family. (Opelika-Auburn News)

There's more here.

Fred Phelps is no stranger to Alabama. He has come here on more than one occasion to celebrate the murders of alleged homosexuals. Now, he travels around the country to praise the killing of American servicemen and women, saying that death is a fitting punishment for those who dare to take up arms in defense of what he considers to be a depraved nation. It's hard to imagine a more despicable human being.

All of this raises a few interesting questions. What law, if any, compels government to provide for the physical protection of protestors like Mr. Phelps? In the interest of protecting the peace, should such protests be considered "fighting words," thereby subjecting the person uttering them to arrest and prosecution? Is extralegal action ever morally justifiable in order to silence such outrageous forms of protest? Or, it best to just ignore these kinds of antics and let them pass?

I'm not exactly sure where I come down on this. My gut reaction is that Mr. Phelps and his cohorts need to be tarred, feathered, and run out of town by a mob of angry citizens. (That would be the extralegal route.) However, I know that's not really an acceptable solution, no matter how satisfying it would be. Violence is not the answer...blah, blah, blah. Whatever.

But, what about throwing these guys in the hoosegow for a few weeks? What would be so wrong with that? Clearly, there are certain forms of speech/expression that are unacceptable in a civilized society. I'm sure that Mr. Phelps wouldn't be phased much by a little jail time, but there's alot to be said for satisfying a community's desire for moral justice when faced with such flagrant violations of civilized norms. That's why there are laws against "disturbing the peace" and the like, and I can't think of a more obvious example of "disturbing the peace" than holding a loud, obnoxious protest outside a funeral. The Constitution protects "peaceable assemblies," and, in my opinion, this ain't that.

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