Messages of our eternal damnation and punishment for our sinful nature bombard the ears as we walk across Free Speech Alley.Most students find the the spectacle mildly amusing. After all, it is Free Speech Alley.Freedom of speech, religion and peaceful assembly, which does not harm others, should be protected by the state.The United States Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to hear the case of Snyder v. Phelps. At the heart of this case is whether or not the First Amendment protects the Westboro Baptist Church’s picketing of the funeral of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who died March 3, 2006 in Iraq.The protestors displayed signs reading “Don’t Pray for the USA,” “God Hates Fags,” “Semper Fi Fags,” “God Hates the USA/Thank God for 911,” “Thank God for Dead Soldiers” and “Thank God for IEDs.”I despise people who disrespect our fallen soldiers. I must confess my desire was to write an article condemning the WBC’s actions, while attempting to prove its protests should not be protected at a funeral where, in my opinion, the family is a captive audience.Actions and speech should be restricted only when they harm others. My initial reaction was that the church’s picketing caused harm to Snyder’s father.Does it matter that Mr. Snyder was unaware of the protest during the funeral? He became aware of this information from the news following the service, according to the York Daily Record.In addition, the protestors complied with all of Maryland’s laws pertaining to demonstrations at funerals. The protestors vacated the site prior to the funeral service, according to their Brief In Opposition To Petition For Writ of Certiorari.The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit states: “The First Amendment serves to protect statements on matters of public concern that fail to contain a ‘provably false factual connotation.'”Furthermore, “rhetorical statements employing ‘loose, figurative, or hyperbolic language’ are entitled to First Amendment protection to ensure that “public debate will not suffer for lack of ‘imaginative expression’ or the ‘rhetorical hyperbole’ which has traditionally added much to the discourse of our Nation.”After reading the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — which overturned the decision of a lower court — I am obliged to admit, to my intense dissatisfaction, that this ‘free speech’ by the Westboro Baptist Church is protected — although I still question whether it should be.The U.S. Supreme Court will consider three questions when it hears the care: “(1) Whether the prohibition of awarding damages to public figures to compensate for the intentional infliction of emotional distress, under the Supreme Court’s First Amendment precedents, applies to a case involving two private persons regarding a private matter; (2) whether the freedom of speech guaranteed by the First Amendment trumps its freedom of religion and peaceful assembly; and (3) whether an individual attending a family member’s funeral constitutes a “captive audience” who is entitled to state protection from unwanted communication,” according to onthedocket.org.The decision made by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit — that the speech is constitutionally protected — may be legally correct.But protesting at a private citizen’s funeral is akin to desecration for the family who remains behind. Therefore, there is a dilemma: Who is protecting the family’s right to peacefully assemble to honor the memory of its loved one?Many states have taken measures to restrict these protests. In Maryland, the protestors were required to maintain a distance of 1,000 feet from the funeral. States should perhaps be allowed to enact harsher restrictions on protesting at funerals to protect the rights of the individual. Should the expression of potentially inflammatory free speech at the funeral of a private citizen — even if for a public purpose — be protected?The irony is that our marines, soldiers and sailors are sworn to faithfully protect the right of citizens to spit on the graves of their fallen brothers.
Nathan Shull is a 35-year-old finance junior from Seattle. Follow him on Twitter @TDR_nshull 
 
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Contact Nathan Shull at [email protected]