American Fred Phelps and his Church regularly protest holding up signs like "Thank God for 9/11" and "God hates fags"... I personally think it is disgusting..OK, so Fred is entitled to free speech but if he was in the UK he could be stopped under a law that bans "inciting hatred"... why has the US not got a similar law?. Just read about him on a petition website http://glad.to/stopthehate so sign up to stop him and pass the address on to all your friends... I cant believe he can get away with protesting at dead soldiers funerals and asking to build a statue of a murdered gay teen with a message saying he is "in hell"... how must the families feel about this?
2007-01-09 02:45:24 · 20 answers · asked by c_rogers 1 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I guess freedom of speech isn't a two-way street, eh?
Let him do what he wants here on Earth. If God doesn't like it, He'll let him know later.
2007-01-09 02:49:43 · answer #1 · answered by jinenglish68 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
There are laws but the fact that the Phelps family have registered themselves as a Church (and if you note the members of this church they are all family) makes it more complex. The rules about religion written into the USA Constitution say that no laws may interfere with the practise of a religion. It would be very messy to go after them. I don't like seeing hate masquerading as faith or religion but it would require changing the Constitution to allow Churches to be prosecuted over their beliefs. That would be almost impossible to put through.
So far Phelps family has managed not to openly advocate violence against anybody, so they have stopped short of prosecutable hate crimes.
However I am not a lawyer and might be wrong on my guess about this.
edit, Minister is wrong about priests being sentenced for free speech or saying they think homosexuality is a sin. Only extreme rightwing papers and sites are claiming that anything like that is possible. The Freeps are claiming that the law allowing gay marriages will open the clergy to charges if they refuse to marry homosexuals. That is pure bullhockey.
The Clergy have always been able to and usually do refuse to marry people because of religion, culture or whatever and always will. They don't even need a reason. In Canadian law the Church part of the marriage has no legal position anyhow. You can get married by filling out forms at your City hall or local court house. It is totally a civil proceding.
In a Church ceremony you still fill out the same papers and unless you do it is not official.
I wish the Freeps would quit running around screaming that the Sky is Falling all the time about everything.
2007-01-09 03:02:25 · answer #2 · answered by Barabas 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Many states, including my state of Colorado, has actually passed laws barring protestors from coming withing a certain distance of funerals. The real shame is that the Fred Phelps crowd makes Christianity look really bad. He also twists and hacks to pieces Christ's message about human sexuality. God certainly doesn't "hate fags" but God did make clear that homosexuality is a sin. That clear message gets muddied by nutters like Phelps.
2007-01-09 02:53:36 · answer #3 · answered by YourMom 4 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Because "Anti Hate Speech" Laws cut both ways. Yes we can stop obnoxious individuals like Fred Phelps, but Preachers could be jailed for Preaching the Truth. A Pastor who tells his Church that Homosexuality is a Sin could be jailed. It is happening in Canada.
2007-01-09 02:57:53 · answer #4 · answered by Minister 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I do not like what Fred Phelps does, however you always have to look at the greater good. Freedom of Speech is a very important fundamental American right. If you stop Mr. Phelphs today, are they going to stop you tomorrow? We don't have to listen, and we don't have to agree. We can choose to focus on other things. As far as showing up at funerals they may be able to stop him from trespassing on private property or some other law that does not directly prohibit his freedom of speech.
2007-01-09 02:55:25 · answer #5 · answered by Christine5 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Actually there was a recent law passed saying they can't protest at soldiers funerals anymore - so at least that one is in the bag.
It's rude, it's wrong, but here in the U.S. we're just very jittery about limiting freedom of speech. We let a lot of garbage pass for the sake of keeping the good stuff.
2007-01-09 02:52:02 · answer #6 · answered by daisyk 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I think everyone is entitled to free speech but this guy's taking it over the top, that's sick of him to protest at funerals and wanting to build a statue of a gay teen that says he's burning in hell, I think this guy's an idiot
2007-01-09 03:16:37 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a Christian I do not approve of Fred Phelps Ideological and or theological point of view and interpretations of Scriptures. he has obviously taken Scriptures out of context and twisted them into an aberration that is not Christian and hence forth does not represent Christianity.
However, I do believe in the right of free speech to say what we want when we want and to whomever we want in any way that we want.
This is a democracy, not a military dictatorship, any attempt to censor anyone for saying things that make our blood boil like his does to mine, is a violation of our rights.
I do not like what Phelps is saying, but he does have the right to say it.
2007-01-09 02:57:58 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We do have laws that ban inciting hatred. Frankly I don't know why they aren't enforced more with people like that. If someone showed up at my son or husband's funeral protesting it, I would probably beat them into submission with any blunt object I could find. Not that I'm a violent person, but I have heard of these protests and I think they're nauseating. I don't know how the families stay calm when they're grieving and under such durress. I know that I wouldn't.
)O(
2007-01-09 02:51:35 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
Phelps is a hatemonger, which has nothing to do with Christ. He and his family are a bunch of whacko's that make christianity look bad. Free speech is a wonderful thing, but hatemongers should be stopped. He and his whacko group should be jailed right along with the KKK, skinheads and any other radical hate group. These fools are what's wrong with this world.
2007-01-09 02:54:28 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
I disagree. You have the right to hate whoever you want to in this country. It's not about hate though. It's about the government telling you how to feel. You don't have to agree with Fred Phelps, but he is entitled to his opinion and can say what he wants to.
2007-01-09 02:52:02 · answer #11 · answered by Chad H 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋