Phelps, the Supreme Court of the United States addressed the issue of "whether the First Amendment shields the [Westboro Baptist Church] members from tort liability for their speech."i In Snyder, the plaintiff, the father of Marine Lance Corporal Matthew Snyder, sought to recover damages on the grounds of intentional infliction of emotional distress, a claim known as IIED, resulting from picketing at his son's funeral. The members of Westboro Baptist Church ("Westboro"), led by Fred Phelps, picketed near the funeral to demonstrate their view that "the United States is overly tolerant of sin and that God kills American soldiers as punishment." In court, the defendant, Phelps, attempted to prove that the signs were meant to express a public concern, rather than target the Snyder burial itself, and that his group was exercising its First Amendment right of free speech and expression. The Supreme Court's decision in favor of the defendant was one that could possibly set the tone for future inflammatory protests and pickets, and how these types of factions might exercise the First Amendment in the future. The decision opened the door for more wrongful demonstrations that do more harm to individuals than express a political or religious view under the protection of the First Amendment. .
The Westboro Baptist Church is a family-operated church located in Topeka, Kansas. Fred W. Phelps founded the church in 1955 and has been the church's only pastor to date.iv The church membership consists of approximately sixty to seventy members, about fifty of whom are related by blood to Phelps. The Phelps' and other church members practice a very fundamentalist and rudimentary religious faith. They believe that God hates homosexuals and punishes America for its tolerance of homosexuality by killing American soldiers. The church established a website (www.godhatesfags.com) to publicize its views. Church members began picketing funerals of fallen soldiers to draw attention to their religious beliefs several years ago and have picketed more and more funerals to attract media attention.
