What goes around comes around. Fred Phelps's so-called religious group, the Westboro Baptist Church, has thrived as a going concern by winning lawsuits attemps to prevent their picketing.
Of course they'll appeal, but today it's the Topeka-based group's turn to pay up a
That's their fortress-like church in the picture, which I took three months ago.
From CBS 13 Baltimore:
A federal jury on Wednesday awarded the father of a fallen Marine $2.9 million after finding a fundamentalist Kansas church and three of its leaders liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict emotional distress for picketing the funeral of a fallen Marine.
CBS station WJZ-TV reports Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified monetary 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.
Related post:
My Kansas Kronikles: Fred Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church
UPDATE Nov. 1: Actually, the Westboro folks have to pay up a lot more, $11 million.
Thanks for the link: Guide to Midwestern Culture
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