Warning: the content of this blog post includes hateful words and images. Our class is studying these words and images not because we support or condone their use, but because understanding our rights means examining the limits of those rights and how those limits are set. This requires examining how we deal with words, images, and ideas that we might find offensive.
First, watch this news report from a Maryland television station: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmeqqkp2Z0I
Then, respond to the following: the first amendment to the Constitution says "Congress shall make no law abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech..." With that in mind, do you think there should be limits on the freedom of speech? Should Pastor Phelps and his church group be allowed to protest at funerals? Explain.
65 comments:
I’m not sure if there could be limits to free speech. The constitution clearly states that congress can’t pass a law that limits free speech, but I think that when the Bill of Rights was written, the framers of the constitution did not expect this event happening that a pester at a protest during a funeral of marine saying that he died because god is blaming America of allowing gays. Yet I believe a protest is legal, it is making fun of a deceased American solder. That is not right. They could take it some were else.
They shouldn’t make this law, but I don’t think the pastor should protest at funerals. It’s bullying, which, if I’m not mistaken, is illegal. It’s no different than going up to someone, who just had a death in their family, and making fun of them at school.
I’m not sure if there could be limits to free speech. The constitution clearly states that congress can’t pass a law that limits free speech, but I think that when the Bill of Rights was written, the framers of the constitution did not expect this event happening that a pester at a protest during a funeral of marine saying that he died because god is blaming America of allowing gays. Yet I believe a protest is legal, it is making fun of a deceased American solder. That is not right. They could take it some were else.
They shouldn’t make this law, but I don’t think the pastor should protest at funerals. It’s bullying, which, if I’m not mistaken, is illegal. It’s no different than going up to someone, who just had a death in their family, and making fun of them at school.
In the U.S. constitution is says that all people shall have right to freedom of speech but I think this is overboard. People have the right to protest but I don’t think that they have the right to discriminate gays from “strait” people. The people of this church are going to far by saying that “god hates you”, “he died because god is blaming America for following gays”, “you are going to hell.”(to anyone who is reading this article and is Christian, doesn’t it say that god is supposed to love us for who we are?) The people of that church should not be able to protest at funerals, funerals are a day of memory for the people who have lost someone in their life. It is not right to go there and act rude and “homophobic”. People should not be able to go there and say nasty things about them in front of the people. That is my opinion about this article.
I honestly believe in the First Amendment and freedom of speech. At the same time, I dont think it's right to limit peoples views or opinons. Although, to protest at a funeral is not just wrong, it's inhumane. There is a time and a place for everything but a funeral is not a good time to show how anti-gay you are. The family of the soldier was already in a difficult place, and the protest made it worse. Although the law allows freedom of speech, there should be laws about where to have protests that are that sensitive. The rights of the people who are being protested against should be protected, too. Pastor Phelps and his church should protest in front of their own church, not one where a funeral is happening or innocent people could be affected.
I think that there should be limits of freedom of speech. This is because some people can abuse it. Just like the people in the video. It showed them holding up signs that could heart other people emotionally and that use inappropriate words. I also think there should be limits of freedom of speech so this commotion wont happen again in the future. People need to enforce the laws so things don't get out of control. I agree with Luke when he said, that "people do have the right to protest but not to discriminate gays from "strait" people." This actually makes me mad and think that these people are poorly educated for saying and protesting something like this. Another thing that's even worse is that the people actually had the nerve to protest at a funeral! It's so dis-respectful. As you can tell I do not think Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals.
Yes, I think that there should be limits on the freedom of speech, but I don’t think that this will ever happen because the Constitution says, “ Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech…” Everyday people bad-mouth or have different opinions/beliefs than others, but in this case people are surely misusing the right. No one will ever be able to control what people say and the effect it will have on others. I agree with Mikey T. when he said that the framers of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights would have never expected this to happen. Even though we have a right to free speech, there should definitely be some kind of law prohibiting this kind of behavior.
No, I don’t think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals. I say this because it adds to the grief and misery of the families whose son/daughter died. A funeral is supposed to be a day of commemorating the one who died, not a protest saying why they died. If someone/a group of people wanted to express their feelings about the topic, they should take their beliefs somewhere else because it emotionally scars people. It’s not the family of the decease being who is at fault for this, so why are they punishing them? This is why I think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals.
After reading the article and watching the video, I think there shouldn’t be a limit, but the government can take away a person’s right, if what they are saying is meant to hurt someone, and can even drive someone to depression and even suicide. I think this, because the first amendment does state that congress shall not make any law abridging the freedom of speech, yet, the person can take that right too far, and then they can say anything to anyone, and disrespect at any time, because they are protected by the law. This can make anyone feel worse about themselves, and in turn make bad decisions in life that could result in consequences, all because of the words said by the people. If the government is able to step in before this happens, they will be able to stop more deaths. Also, they can only take away the right of free speech, when it goes thru almost the same process of passing a law, by making sure that everyone agrees with it, otherwise, the group can continue to say the things. Also, they can only take away the right to say that certain thing(s). So, obviously, I don’t think that the pastor and his followers should be able to say those things, because, like how Rachel said. “…it only adds to the grief and misery of the families whose son/daughter died.” The funeral is set up to honor the person, and put them to rest with their family their to observe and be able to see them for the last time in this world, and to remember the good times, and what good acts and high achievements they had in their lives. Yet, with the protests, they have difficulty doing that, and they only get sadder, and it doesn’t help at all. That is what I think about this discussion.
I think that people should have freedom of speech but I agree with Molly that there does have to be some limits to that. People can get way too carried away with saying what they believe and hurt others by doing that. Just like at Shepaug there are limits because you can't wear shirts or hats that might be offensive to other students. The Supreme Court should think about putting limits on their first amendment to free speech.
I don't think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals. I think that it is rude and mean to protest at a funeral where someone has died for his country. If they are not stopped, they will continue to do this at funerals and continue to hurt many more people. I think that people should have the right to privacy at funerals. The article says that most states have laws already against protesting at funerals so if that is true in Pennsylvania, the church group should be punished. Also, I don't think it is right that they are using kids to hold signs protesting things that they might not even understand at a young age.
After reading the article and watching the video, I think their should be limits to what you can say. I think if a person is using awful words to hurt someone then something should be done to them, maybe their right to freedom of speech should be taken away. The first amendment does state that congress shall not make any law abridging the freedom of speech. Even though you are allowed to say whatever you want and basically not get in trouble, you shouldn't abuse that right by hurting other people's feelings. I don’t think that the pastor and his followers should be able to say those things, because, like how Rachel said. "it only adds to the grief and misery of the families whose son/daughter died.” Funerals are basically the last time you'd ever be able to see your son/daugther. Like Clayton F. said "The funeral is set up to honor the person, and put them to rest with their family their to observe and be able to see them for the last time in this world, and to remember the good times, and what good acts and high achievements they had in their lives." To do that to someone elses funeral would be very disrespectful.
I think that the right to freedom of speech should be limited because what those people did outside the church was horrible and I’m glad that they were sued. I think that the way that the right to freedom of speech should be limited is that we do have freedom of speech, but we can't speak out to the world offensive thing about America, religion, or homosexuals, or anything like that.
I certainly think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals, because the father at the funeral was very offended and people shouldn't be doing things like that ever.
I think that the right to freedom of speech should be limited because what those people did outside the church was horrible and I’m glad that they were sued. I think that the way that the right to freedom of speech should be limited is that we do have freedom of speech, but we can't speak out to the world offensive things about America, religion, or homosexuals, or anything like that. I think that it should be limited like that because if you just don’t let people talk out offensively about America, then you are not being strict enough, but if you don’t let anyone speak offensively about anything at all, then you are being too strict. You should be able to talk about things the way you want, but you shouldn’t let the whole world know.
I certainly think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals, because the father at the funeral was very offended and people shouldn't be doing things like that ever. I think that no one should be allowed to protest at funerals because funerals are a place of sadness and letting your loved ones go, and if people are protesting against anything, then they are disturbing the peace.
I think that there definatly should be a limit to free speach. People shouldn't be able to say things that are hateful and disgusting. I agree with Luke and how he said that don't Christian's belive that God isn't discriminating and that he loves you for who you are, not what your sexuality is? Yes, we do have free speach but to what limit? Saying things like this could really hurt people, and cause them emotional damage. I think it was terrible of those people to protest, and to make it worse, they were at a funeral! I'm sure that they wouldn't want something like that happening at their own funeral. How could they do something like that? I agree with Rachel, how she said that doing that will only add to the grief of losing a loved one.
The people who were protesting shouldn't be allowed to say such awful, hurtful things. I think that if that's what they believe, then that's their opinion. We can't do anything to change that, but if it will cause someone to feel bad about themselves than they should't be able to say things like that. Personally I don't think it matters at all if your homosexual or not, just that you're a good person, but I understand that people think differently, I just think they should keep those thoughts to themselves. Haven't we all heard the saying, "If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say it at all,"? These people obviously haven't. I think its terrible to do things like that, and free speach should definatly have a limit.
I think that there should be no limits on free speech. The funeral should have not been interrupted or disturbed, but, freedom of speech is a important part of America. How far could this go, if we let it start with not letting everyone have free speech. Should we charge all the harassers? Or anyone who would have caused trouble at the funeral? Maybe all anti-gays? In Germany, during World War 2, Jew’s laws where taken one bye one. Although I do not agree with Anti-gay ways, or protesting funerals, people do have rights, and I consider freedom of speech the most important. I do think Phelps should be sued. I do, however think that the father should get some sort of restraining order agents the Pastor.
After I was done reading the article and watching the video I noticed that people were saying a lot of hurtful things. Also I agree with what Mike N said that there should be a limit to what people can say. Because if there’s people out there that say bad things about people, religion, or homosexuals, people like that. Because if they go on like this there can be a big problem. Also I agree with Mikey T that people should be able to protest, but this is making fun of a deceased soldier which is not right.
No I don’t think that Paster Phelps should have protests at church funerals. I think that there shouldn’t be protesting at a funeral. A funeral is for praying and remembering your loved ones. Also I think that it is very disrespectful to even be at another person’s funeral and be protesting around them.
I think there shouldn’t be limits of free speech. People should be able to express their opinions no matter what those opinions are. Therefore, I believe Pastor Phelps and his church have a right to protest at the funeral. I think that because if you limit free speech not only do you prevent bad ideas and evil thoughts, you also limit good ideas and good thoughts. The same law that protects Pastor Phelps and his church may one day protect someone so they can express good ideas. The first amendment allowed Martin Luther King Jr. to express ideas that were not popular at the time.
I strongly disagree with Pastor Phelps’s actions, but I defend their right to do it, even though it is very offensive. Other bloggers like Molly and Rachel think Pastor Phelps cross the line. I think the line is crossed when someone doesn’t just state an opinion, but verbally attacks someone else.
I don’t think our right to free speech should have any limits. I also don’t believe that protesting at a funeral is illegal; although to me it seems immoral, but still not illegal. I don’t think our freedom of speech should be taken away or limited, although to me it seems Pastor Phelps was “pushing the boundaries” on his right to free speech by protesting at that funeral. But maybe he should be punished; weather by the law or by Snyder’s family. It seems that he’s the only problem here. It’s not Snyder’s fault and I don’t think it anyone who is gay’s fault, or anyone who is anti-gay’s fault. Pastor Phelps would probably not be in so much trouble if he protested on a random street side, but it looks like protesting at a “funeral” is what is getting everyone so riled up; not the protesting itself. Do I agree with Pastor Phelps and other anti-gays?? No. But they do have the right to free speech and are allowed to express their opinion, as do I. Am I going to protest something at a funeral?? Probably not, but I still have the right to. I do think Phelps should be sued; if I was at my child’s funeral and someone was protesting against people who were gay, I would be flipping out. But it seems to be immoral NOT illegal.
I think there should be limits to free speech in the United States even though the Constitution says that Congress will not make a law limiting free speech. I think this because if your thoughts discriminate people, in this case homosexuals, those people may become hurt inside. They may feel they are being singled out and disgracing the country or their community. But overall, their will probably not be a law in the future stating limits to free speech because,like what Rachel C. says, the Constitutuion states no law limiting free speech.
I think Pator Phelps should not be able to protest at funerals. This is because funerals are a time of grievance and sorrow, and I don't think you want people outside yelling they caused US troops to be killed because of their sexuality. Also, people in the community of Pastor phelps may feel embarrased because they live in the same area as a group who protests at funerals. They do this because they have freedom of speech and they think that people are dying because oh homosexuals. I think Pastor Phelps has really gone overboard with protesting at funerals.
I think that there should be a limit to freedom of speech. The reason for this is because they set they law so that people have freedom of speech even though people should be able to represent their option. When he did the signs for the protest it was not the right time. So in my option I think that people should have a limit on free speech because they should not be able to say things about god at his house and it is a disgrace to say that when these people were risking their lives for us. While they are fighting their families are waiting and this guy risked his life and died to save his country. At the same time though people should be able to speech their minds but they should do it so in a way that it does not insult anyone in any way. I agree with Mikey T I think that the people did not see this coming when they made the law of freedom of speech. So in conclusion there should be limits on freedom of speech.
No, I don’t think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be able to protest at funerals. The reason for my thinking is because this is a time we honor someone’s daughter/son that died and we should not be protesting why they died. This was not right to say that god wanted to kill the people and especially not at a funeral. It’s already hard enough that the family has to deal with the death but it is even harder when you see the signs saying why he or she died. It’s not the families problem that their son died they had no control over that. So in conclusion I think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be able to protest at a funeral.
I think that there should be a limit to free speech. People shouldn’t be able to say things that are truly hurtful and definitely something hurtful shouldn’t be brought all the way up to the national level. I agree with Luke and Alden when they said that shouldn’t Christian's believe that God isn't discriminating and that he loves you for who you are, not what your sexuality is? We should put limits on speech to make sure that people aren’t hurt by discriminating language. Just like Alden said that things like this could hurt people and cause them emotional damage. It was awful of those people to protest at a funeral! There should definitely be limits on free speech so people aren’t hurt and doubt their beliefs even though everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.
I do not think that people should be allowed to protest at a funeral or church event. People should only be allowed to protest for things like unfair pay or a decision in your town. People should not protest about what they think of other with a different sexuality. People should not protest their opinion about what other people do especially there personal life and beliefs. I mean what if homosexuals protest that Christians were killing the planet. Would they want someone protesting that all over the news at one of their funerals? They would feel offended and hurt so why would they hurt and offend someone else? That’s why I think they shouldn’t be allowed to protest.
The first amendment states all have the right to free speech. However, I am of the opinion that we as a people should respect each other despite our differences. while the Baltimore Baptist Church has a right to stand for their beliefs, they are wrong to violate the rights of the deceased family who were already in grief over the loss of their loved one. I also disagree with the church implying that God hates them and he was killing soldiers for their toleration to gays. After all who are they to judge for God. It states in the Bible, we should love each other as he loves us. The baptist went about defending their beliefs the wrong way. They could have took it elsewhere and not where the family gathered celebrating the life of their deceased son. That was not only wrong but inhumane.
I think that there should be some limits to freedom of speech. Sometimes people go way to far by protesting against people that can’t help who they are. Not only does that make one person upset but, discriminating can hurt thousands of other people as well. So, I think that people like the ones in the church should have that right taken away because if they don’t I feel it could somehow lead to violence. The gay people who felt angry about church members protesting might want to rebel against them causing a riot.
I agree with Maddy that it isn’t good to show how anti-gay you are at a funeral. Funerals are supposed to be a time to remember the person that was recently lost. It isn’t fair if people are protesting at it because some people probably had spent a long time trying to make it a nice ceremony for a person that had passed away. It can also make the church members think that they can go protest at any funeral if they aren’t stopped. I think that there should defiantly be a law saying that funerals are allowed to be private because what Pastor Phelps is doing is wrong.
I do think there should be limits on freedom of speech. I believe you do have a right to voice your opinion but this is very offensive language, and quite frankly makes me very mad that these church members used it at a funeral. I agree with luke when saying a funeral is a day of remembering someone you love. I feel bad for the poor family who had to deal with that pastor using there son's funeral as a way to express an opinion that is hurtful to many people in this world.
I do no think at all should Pastor Phelps and his church group protest at any funerals. A family who has suffered a loss does not need that drama on day of grief. For example this funeral was for a fighting solider who gave up his life for this country, and in return he gets his funeral violated. If Phelps' church group wants to protest then they should do it somewhere else it is horrible to do it at a funeral.
After reading the article and watching the video, I believe that we should limit the freedom of speech. I think this because after seeing the video, I learned that people can say ANYTHING they want; which include racial and very hurtful thing that can discriminate people. I believe that we should limit freedom of speech so that people don’t use language that can really hurt someone. For example discriminating people on their sexuality. The people protesting at the church did wrong when saying that god was killing the American soldiers to punish the US for tolerating homosexuality. This kind of freedom of speech can lead to violence and people getting seriously injured or even killed. I don’t think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be able to protest at funerals. I think this because at a funeral people go to honor the person that has passed. If there are people saying that it was ok because god is punishing the US, then the people at the funeral will become more depressed. I think that there should be an amendment in the constitution that limits freedom of speech.
I strongly believe in the First Amendment. However, when someone goes too far and is intentionally trying to hurt someone, that it should not be legal. This group could get worse and worse, ending up as bad as the Klu Klux Klan, physically hurting people. The fact that there are young children holding up signs that say, “You’ll Go To Hell” just makes me sad for these people. As Molly said, they’re probably not very well educated. They might not realize that gays are just like everyone else. And discriminating against gays is just as bad as discriminating against black people. Also, I noticed there were only white people holding up the signs. Maybe black people are much smarter than them. And as Rachel said, they can protest outside their own church, not at someone’s funeral, which is already an awful day for soldiers’ parents. These people should not make it worse for them. However, I also understand that these people are not doing anything but mental harm to these people. It would be hard to make a law drawing the line to what’s okay and what’s not. That’s what I think about these people protesting.
After reading the article and watching the video I do think that there should be limits on the freedom of speech. Although the Constitution says that there will be no law abridging freedom of speech, when it gets too far and becomes hateful, there are just more problems over all. This is because if what you are saying is really hurtful and mean to other people, then this shouldn’t be allowed. Why make someone’s life miserable when they have done nothing wrong? I agree with Nick A that the people who abuse this right should maybe have it taken away. An example of this abuse of freedom of speech was when the church group was saying that the soldiers were dying because people tolerate homo-sexuals and god hates homo-sexuals. This is like any other discrimination and the constitution also states that everyone be treated equally. So really, the protesters are at fault. In the article it also said that the protesters but on their signs “God hates you.” This is an awful thing to say to someone whether they believe in god or not. It’s not like they have done any harm. There should definitely be limits on freedom of speech if it offends someone or a group of people when they have done no harm.
I do not think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at a funeral. You can’t blame something that happened while in war on innocent people. It says in the article that they were holding up hateful signs towards homosexual people. This is not even needed when there is a funeral going on. You’re only going to make the sorrow and grief of the funeral worse than it already is, as Rachel also said. This is so disrespectful to do at someone’s funeral, when everyone there is already going through enough. At a funeral you should be celebrating their lives and the person, not just adding more drama and discrimination towards people. This is what I think about this discussion.
I honestly think that protesting against gays at a funeral is beyond terrible. In no way is it fair or mature for grown adults to go and mentaly attack this poor family, they had already suffered a loss and this protest was just disgraceful.
I do believe that a line should be drawn on free speech. Yes, it may seem unfair for those trying to express their opinon. However, saying things like, "You are going to hell," and "God hates you," that is not appropriate to say to someone who is feeling bad enough about their loss. I agree with many of the other students who said there is a time and place for everything and a funeral is not the right time, or place. Also saying word like, hate and hell to a certain group of people is cruel. It's descimintation too, what happened to treat others the way you want to be treated? It's the golden rule, and all are created equal anyways.
I think that a law should be made to prevent this kind of thing.
I believe greatly in the first amendment. But I do believe that there should be limits on free speech. I believe this because if there aren’t limits, events like this will keep occurring. If its happened once, why wont it happen again? Another reason also believe this because if people keep on expressing their opinion like this it will lead to violence. Like Emma V said, “The gay people who felt angry about church members protesting might want to rebel against them causing a riot.” With this being said I do not think Pastor Phelps and his church should be able to protest at funerals. I think this because funerals are supposed to be about remembering the person who passed away, not about sharing your opinion about something. I think it terrible what they said. How would they feel if people were saying things like that at their funeral? That is why I believe that there should be limits on free speech.
I think there should be one limit on freedom of speech. The only limit I think should take place is that you should express a big idea at the right time; for example at court,not at a funeral.Freedom of speech is speaking out and saying how you feel. By doing it at someone else’s funeral is not fair to them. People should be able to express how they feel about certain situations only at appropriate times; that should be the only limit on freedom of speech.
I don’t think Pastor Phelps should allow protest at his funerals. The reason I think that is because what he was discussing at the funeral on March 10, 2006 was not relevant to the funeral. Like Rachel said, it is isn’t fair to the family who’s having the funeral because it is a day of commemorating a lost loved one, not a protest about how they died. Another problem with this situation is that the pastor was involved and allowed this to happen at a funeral. The signs people made and the things people were saying were definitely against the beliefs of all churches and certainly every pastor. I believe that because of the examples that were given in the article, some were: “God hates you” and “You are going to hell”. That is why I think Pastoral Phelps or any other pastor shouldn’t allow protests at a funeral or any other religious event.
After watching the movie and reading the article, I think that Pastor Phelps shouldn’t be able to protest at funerals. There also shouldn’t be limits on free speech. I think this because Pastor Phelps had made fun of a Marine soldier that gave his life for this country, when his father is depressed and grieving. This is wrong, and the pastor shouldn’t be doing this. The reason the pastor is doing this, however, is because he believes that “God was killing American soldiers to punish the US for tolerating homosexuality.” This is unconstitutional because people in America can be gay or not, but only if they choose. This is also wrong, because he is making a grieving father feel worse about his loss. I agree with Mikey T. that Congress can’t pass a law to limit speech, but they can’t punish this outbreak. They also shouldn’t limit free speech because it would be unconstitutional, and it gives the people a right to make the country better. This is because they can speak freely about what is wrong with the government, and how we can fix it. That might be a little off topic, but I feel that it helps us understand it better. Overall, I think that Pastor Phelps shouldn’t be allowed to protest at funerals, and that we shouldn’t limit free speech.
I think that there should be limits to free speech. Even though the Constitution said that no law could be passed that limited free speech, I think when it goes over into mean spirited sniping it should not count. Even though I agree with Mikey that the protest is legal, They’re basically mocking a dead soldier with wild claims. It’s not right at all. They could have done it anywhere else. When the framers made this law, I think they meant for I to extend to many things but not this. These people are abusing their first amendment right. It’s basically like going up to someone who just lost a relative and saying that their whole family is a bunch of pathetic weirdoes just to protest something. I ask you, is that right? I think a law should be made against blatant abuse of a first amendment right like this.
After watching the video and reading the article I do think that there should be some limits on free speech. You should be able to state your opinion, but not if it is mean and hurtful. Saying things that will really hurt people and can impact them is not fair, especially at a big occasion where everyone is already emotionally damaged, should be illegal and protected by the government. It also should really be illegal when very horrible things like this are said to innocent people. And although the first amendment says that you have free speech and can say anything without getting in too much trouble, there is so much damage that can be caused in a persons’ life due to this law. Besides this news on the bad language used at the funeral, there has been so many other problems related to free speech, almost every day a person commits suicide due to how they have been treated by words, and there are thousands affected by words every minute. Do you think that’s right?
I also believe that Pastor Phelps and his church should not be allowed to protest at funerals. The people at the funerals are already hurt enough from the death of a friend or relative, it is cruel to put even more pain on to them. Another thing, shouldn’t followers of a church believe in god and how he rule, instead of going against it? I think these hateful things said by the church should be stopped immediately.
I feel that there should be no limit to the freedom of speech for the people. After reading the article and watching the video, although the constitution says there will be no law abridging freedom of speech. When it gets hateful it gets too far and it especially if it is a man that served our country. An example of abuse of freedom of speech is descriminating a homo-sexual or a gay at his own funeral it is just sad. The protesters are at fault because on the signs it says "god hates you". This is terrible, if they believe in god or not. The constitution states that all people will be treated equal. I agree with Rachel that the protesters were making the funeral worse than it really is. This is what i believe after watching he video and reading the article.
The Constitution does state, that the government cannot make laws limiting freedom of speech, however a protest at a funeral of a marine, or anyone for that matter, is unacceptable. As many of the others have said, I don’t believe the framers were aware of what would come of the inability to limit freedom of speech. I do believe that there should be a restriction as to where freedom of speech can be limited, much like schools have a slight restriction on freedom of speech. Therefore, I fully believe that there should defiantly be some type of restriction of where some places can limit freedom of speech to an extent.
I do not think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals. As Rachel said, by protesting at a funeral it only adds to the grief of the family and friends. Why anyone would even want to protest at a funeral is far beyond me, but even if you were bizarre enough to think of it, it should be illegal.
So overall, I am defiantly completely for the limits to freedom of speech in some environments and situations.
I agree with Logan when he said there should be limits on freedom of speech. I agree with this because if you have the freedom of speech, then you can pretty much say whatever you want. And all of these problems will happen over and over again. This can be a problem because these cases will probably go to the Supreme Court. And the Supreme Court will probably always say that they are safe because in the Amendments, it says freedom of speech. Some of the things that people say should be said. They can be mean, and offensive to other people. I also think that Pastor Phelps and his church should not be able to protest at funerals. Funerals are to send people to a nice place, in a nice way. And no one wants to remember a funeral where people were being mean. I know that I wouldn’t want to. It is not right disrespect someone who fought for your freedom and on his choice. He shouldn’t be burned being treated that way. It is not right. That is why I think that there should be limits on freedom of speech and that it was wrong of the pastor to do that to a soldier.
I think that there should be limits on the freedom of speech. Because when it gets too far and becomes hateful and there are just more problems over all. I say this because if you talk a lot of hateful things such as putting down someone's religion, be racstist, or insuliting their persanol life is just inappropriate. Why should you make someone’s life miserable when they did nothing wrong. I agree with Alisa G. that the people who abuse this right should maybe have it taken away. I say this because when people blame killing of many soldiers and saying that the killing of homo-suxuals is the churches fault then they should be immediately. If somebody did this like in my current events article i think that they should be fined a year or more in jail, or a lot of money to the people or society in which they blamed. In the article it also said that the protesters but on their signs “God hates you.” This is an bad thing to say to someone whether they believe in god or not. It’s not like they have done any bad. There should definitely be limits on freedom of speech if it offends someone or a group of people when they didn't do anything wrong. I do not think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at a funeral. You can’t blame something that happened while in war on innocent people. You’re only going to make the sorrow and grief of the funeral worse than it already is, as Rachel also said.
After reading the article and watching the video, I think there should be limits in freedom of speech. I still think people should be allowed to say whatever they want, but not in such a hurtful and hateful way. Even though the U.S constitution states that it cannot make a law limiting freedom of speech, there should still be something that doesn’t entirely limit freedom of speech, but limiting certain areas of content. For example, in the video, many of these people were holding up signs, even children, of hurtful phrases such as,” God hates you,” or “Your going to hell.” Even if you happen to believe in that, ( which I think is absolutely horrible,) you still shouldn’t be promoting you opinions even if hurtful, around; especially at a funeral! Also when I saw children holding up those signs, it had made very mad. But still they probably were just listening to their parents, which was obviously a bad influence, and have not a clue of what was actually going on. Another thing is that if you do happen to believe in those views, you shouldn’t point them out at funeral, where there’s a lot of grief and sadness for the person’s friends and family. Doing that would just make the funeral worse than it already is. Besides, what’s even more sad is that this was at someone’s funeral who was fighting and serving our country!
I also think that Pastor Phelps should not have protested at the funeral. I thought it was rude, insensitive, and absolutely inappropriate. They should never be allowed to protest at any kind of funeral for anyone again. Even still if they wanted to protest, they should at least do it at the their own church instead of a funeral!
Anyone can have freedom of speech but sometimes it could go to far. Protesting can have the same characteristics. People can abuse anything even when it comes down to their rights. I feel that their should be limits to freedom of speech and protesting. I had just got finished watching NBC news and they were talking about freedom of speech a.k.a. the first amendment. The first amendment states that anyone and everyone can say anything they want. But when someone is saying something and is hurting them i think that's were the government needs to stop it. If you have something mean to say keep it to yourself. Personally I think pastor Phelps had no right to protest at someones funeral. Especially because it was a solders funeral. That's going to far. If he and his church were holding up offensive sings with bad words on them that's were freedom of speech should be limited.
I think there should be limits on the freedom of speech. I say this because without limits everything would get out of control. I also think there would be many issues and everyone could just say what they want. I think this would cause everyone to become crazy. I think Pastor Phelps and his church group shouldn't be allowed to protest at funerals. I say this because it wouldn't be restpectful and it would also be rude. The family might be trying to pay their restpects and the other people would be out of control and protesting. This is why speech should be limited and Pastor Phelps and his church group shouldn't be allowed to protest.
Although the Constitution guarentees freedom of speech, I believe that there comes a time and place where it does need to be limited, and people do cross a line between using Freedom Of Speech and just being mean, disrespectful, and rude. When people start acting, as Maddy said, inhumane, then there has to be limits set. When people start going out of their way, to be blatantly disrespectful, at a FUNERAL of all plaecs, then I think the issue need to be addressed. To protest something like homosexuality at a funeral,is really rude when you take into consideration the grieving family and friends, and the disrespect to the deceased. I do think that in those situations you need limits on Freedom Of Speech, ones that limit things like other's beliefs being put down. If a belief system shouldn't be tied into the government and affect it... how can people tie it into everything else? I definately think that Pastor Phelps and his church should not be allowed to protest at a funeral, it's just blatant disrespect for the deceased and their family. What I also question is why they were protesting at the military man's funeral about him being killed for homosexuality... it's not like he was homosexual, so why bother creating that kind of an arguement? It just seems like it'll create issues and controversy over an already very controversial topic. I feel that the church was definately at fault for their protesting, and there definately need to be limits on Freedom of Speech in certain situations.
I think there should be limits in the freedom of speech amendment. It was not fair that this young man had fought and died for our country, whatever his sexual orientation, and was being treated with such little respect. Imagine how his parents would feel, watching his funeral while there was a group of people protesting hatred towards this young man and his family. Although the amendment says “Congress shall make no law abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech,” for the government to work well, some laws need to be tweaked a bit. For example this one. If everyone “really” had freedom of speech, hateful and inappropriate remarks would prevail fostering an intolerant and mean spirited society. That is why there should be limits in freedom of speech amendments.
I think that there should be a restriction on freedom of speech. I think this because people can’t just go around and say mean and hurtful things whenever they want. Some of these mean things can be insensitive too people and they can be offended by the upsetting words. I agree with Rachel C. when she says that she didn’t think this would happen because of what the constitution said. The constitution says, “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech…” All the time people say whatever they want anywhere like in school, the mall, and in sports. The sad thing is that no one does anything to stop it. There should defiantly be a new amendment or law that states some restrictions on free speech.
I think that Pastor Phelps should not be allowed to protest at funerals. I think this because people feel offend when they do this. People are still trying to mourn the loss of this person and these groups of people that are protesting are making it harder for the family mourning the loss of this person. I agree with Rachel C. when she says, “A funeral is supposed to be a day of commemorating the one who died, not a protest saying why they died. If someone/a group of people wanted to express their feelings about the topic, they should take their beliefs somewhere else because it emotionally scars people.” I agree with her because a funeral should be about all the good things that this person had done and all the memories this person made not a big protest. This is why I think that Pastor Phelps should not protest at funerals.
Even though the constitution does state that there should be no law limiting the freedom of speech, I believe that there can be, in certain circumstances, exceptions to this. That is because I don’t think people should have the right to ruin such an important moment like a funeral by protesting and discriminating the person who is being buried. This is the last chance for the family and friends of this person to see them and to be so disrespectful and protest against the person being buried and say mean and rude things about them is just cruel. These people could definitely find a better way to express their idea then to ruin a person’s funeral. So even though I think people should have a freedom of speech in some cases I think it should be limited or taken away. I also do not think that Pastor Phelps and his church should be allowed to protest at funeral.
I agree with Molly M that there should be limits of free speech because people can abuse it. Free speech is very good but there is a limit. Protesting at someone’s funeral just goes over that limit. There is a time and a place for it and at a funeral isn’t the place. A funeral is for thinking about your loved ones. Free speech is a great way to state your opinion but being hurtful to other people’s sexuality just isn’t right. Christian’s believe that god loves you for who you are and that’s it, he would never change his mind if you were gay. Pastor Phelps definitely should not be able to protest at funerals just because there is a time and a place and a funeral isn’t it.
The Constitution does state that Congress shall make no law abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech. I agree that every human being should be able to express ones' self. But there comes a point in life where you just cross the line. America trusts us as the people to know where freedom limits us. Meaning using offensive language goes way too far. I feel that there should and should not be limits on freedom of speech. I feel as if you can have opinions that you can share. But not show to the whole world when it hurts others. WE as American's shouldn't being calling Homosexuals "fags" or anything like that. Or blaming them for God killing innocent solders. Scapegoating a person who has feelings for a different gender than you or the same gender of themselves is not exceptable. I thought that after slavery and segregation that we all now believe was completely unfair and horrific that we wouldn't judge. Discriminate. Or insult someone who is apart of us. Apart of this nation. And especially who has rights and belongs in this world. They have a right to be homosexual. Its their choice. No one should yell at them or even try to say that they caused deaths for being themselves. But also people can still have opinions and freedom of speech but don't go "overboard" with that privilege. Hence why I find it highly inappropriate that a Pastor the one who stands up in a church and tells everyone that God excepts them for who they are is going to protest against gays and be cruel. I honestly feel that he needs to get a reality check to see what God is all about because he certainly doesn't judge people and blame them for peoples death just by sexuality. And to say it at a funeral when people are grieving and all they may want is God and they want love but one of the things they get is saying hey you should hate homosexuals because they killed your son/daughter 'cause God doesn't except them. That is just horrible. I mean reread the Constitution and D.O.I. they all state that you have liberty and justice and should not be judge. WE all need to stop and see what were doing, realize. And once we do see the tears fall i think America even the whole world in general will be ashamed of what they have ever said of felt or thought about homosexuals because this is just bad.
In my opinion, you should be able to say what you want to say. If you have one law about racism then you will need to have many laws. For example, if you have a law about Chinese people then you need to have a law about Italian people and so on. If you have a law about Jewish people then you need a law about Catholics and every other religion. If there are so many laws, Americans will not have any freedom to speak.
I believe that Pastor Phelps has every right to protest against homosexuality as that is what he believes. I do not think he used the right time/location to protest. Our social rules that some of us learned from our childhood shows that a funeral is not a really good place to protest. He really should not do it at a funeral because it is a sad time for the grieving parents. I also agree that he should be able to say what he feels to the other people. That is why he should be able to say what he wants.
After watching the video, I was stunned. I think it was so awful that people were so disrespectful. Limitations on free speech should be made. I think it is so very awful to protest at a funeral, I agree with Christian S. when he says "That crosses the line". You just shouldn’t do that. You also just don’t discriminate people because of their sexuality choice; it is their choice, so they should back off. It would be easier if this world was perfect, and nobody made fun of anybody or disrespected anybody, but that is not how the world goes these days, and it is awful. There are many people who are disrespectful and mean, and I think we should limit speech to prevent that. So I do think it is necessary to limit free speech.
I don’t think Pastor Phelps should be able to protest at funerals. I don’t think anybody should ever be able to protest at a funeral. It is so disrespectful. I would never do that. I think funerals are a time to recognize loved ones just as Christian S. said.
I know in the constitution we have the right to “freedom of speech,” but there should a minor limit to what people can say in public if it is not suitable. I don’t believe that should be a major limit on our freedom of speech, but in a case like this one there should at least boundaries on what as person can say in certain cases and for the right reasons. I believe in this because a person can be buried no matter their life choose were and have their family and friend honor them. I also think it was wrong of Pastor Phelps and his church to protest at the funeral.
I say yes and no to limiting freedom of speech. I say this because in the video it showed hateful signs that could be offensive to many people. People should respect the freedom of speech and use their words wisely. I also say “yes”, because even though people can be harsh with their words, they should still be able to speak their mind about things and state their opinion. If people abuse their right to use the freedom of speech then it could encourage kids to do the same which would not be good. The definition for freedom of speech states that people have the right to say their opinion as long as there is no discrimination. This means that you could speak your mind as long as it isn’t hurtful. With Pastor Phelps he wanted to protest against funerals!! I find that to be rather rude to the person being laid out and the family. I say this because people should be able to lay out peacefully not with people protesting against them. I feel that that church isn’t a true church for wanting to protest at funerals.
I think that there should be limits to freedom of speech. Because I think it’s wrong that people would protest outside of a marine funeral and saying that he died because god is blaming America of allowing gays. But I think that protests are sometimes good like The Boston Tea Party, a protest that actually makes something better. The people of that church should not be able to protest at funerals of gays, funerals are a day of memory for the people who have lost someone in their life gay or straight. Like how Rachel said, "it only adds to the grief and misery of the families whose son/daughter died.” Funerals are basically the last time you'd ever be able to see your son/daughter. The last thing you want is to see a protest outside is not only rude but it’s not right. So I think that what the people of this church are doing is illegal and wrong.
I think that when Congress passed the law for freedom of speech a long time ago that it was not meant to protect people that were protesting at funerals. The law was made to help people that we being persecuted for speaking out about things that they thought were wrong with the government. I think that it is very disrespectful for the pastor and his church to protest at the funeral of a soldier that gave his life for his country.
I believe that we should have freedom of speech. I don’t know how you could limit freedom of speech. What someone says may be offensive to another person or not. I think that it is about respect. People can say whatever they want, but you need to be respectful of other people. I agree with Marcus. Pastor Phelps used the wrong time and location. If the pastor wants to protest then they should do it somewhere other than the funeral of a dead soldier.
After I read the article and watched the video, i say yes and no to the freedom of speech. This is because in the video it showed signs that showed very hateful saying that are very offencive to many people. People should be able to have the freedom of speach but they should use there words wisely. Like James Kish said "there should be a minor limit to what people can say in public if it is not suitable." I think that we should be able to have the freedom of speech but in cases like that we should limit our boundries. I do not think that they should be able to protest at funerals. We should be honoring our dead, funerals are a time for recognizing your loved ones, like Christian S. said. That is why I think the freedom of speech should be limited to appropriate sayings at appropriate times.
After watching the video and reading the article, I think there should be limits on the freedom speech, but I don’t think that this will happen in the future. I think this because in the first amendment to the constitution it says, "Congress shall make no law abridging (limiting) the freedom of speech…" I don’t think that when this law was created that this type of situation was predicted. I think that there should be limits on the freedom of speech, because the right to freedom of speech has hurt more people than it has helped. I agree with Rachel C., that "Everyday people badmouth or have different opinions and beliefs than others, but in this case people are misusing the right." I think that this fact is true, that these people have taken their right of speech to the extreme and are testing its' boundaries. I think that the people protesting at these funerals are seeing just how far their rights extend. Also, I don’t think that this law will be changed because future generations will grow up believing that God is punishing American too. I think this because in the video, there are young toddlers, teenagers, and people of all sizes protesting for this cause because they have never known any different. Kids are growing up with the fact that being a homosexual is wrong and don’t know what else to think. Last, there should be limits on the freedom of speech because the words these people are saying and protesting at funerals of loved ones, are truly hurtful. If the speech you are saying can harm others or lead to death, I think that you should be limited on what you can and can't say. This is why I think that there should be limits on freedom of speech, but I don’t think it will happen in the future.
I don’t think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals. I think this because it can really hurt a family. At funerals, families are already at their lowest point, they have had the worst possible thing in the world happen to them. If people are protesting that a family member deserved to be killed, it only adds to the family's grief and misery. While these people might firmly believe in their cause, a funeral of a loved one is not the right place to say that. I think that they should be able to say what they think in another place, another time instead of the day where deceased ones are being honored and remembered. Last, when someone/ a group of people want to express their feelings on the subject of homosexuals, they are not making their cause any stronger by expressing it to the family members of loved ones. There is no chance of the people who are having the funeral for their friends or family are going to agree with the protest or change their minds. Aren't protests about getting someone to see your point of view? This is why I think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals.
I think there should be limits placed on freedom of speech. One reason I say this is because in the movie it says, “ This case presents a really difficult question of first amendment law, the conflict between freedom of speech and freedom to peaceably assemble.” I agree with Mikey T. in that the church had a right to speak freely as it clearly states in the 1st Amendment. However it is highly rude of them to be holding disrespectful signs at a funeral, especially a funeral for a young military boy who served our country. The funeral was a time for the father to mourn his son’s death quietly but it was interrupted by members of the Westboro Baptist church claiming, “God was killing American soldiers to punish the US for tolerating homosexuality.” Even though I think the group was being offensive to the solider and his family, it would be wrong to limit the right to free speech unless the limits were really specific. I believe this because if you were to make the limits too general then some people could be afraid to form and express their own opinion. For example in the text it says, “In the world of debate about public affairs, many things done with motives that are less than admirable are protected by the First Amendment," the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist wrote, adding that constitutional protections apply "even when a speaker or writer is motivated by hatred or ill-will.” This means that all of our rights to free speech are in the First Amendment and if we were to even alter the amendment then some people could be turned-off to their right of voice. All in all, I think people should be able to voice their own opinion however limits should be placed on the Ademendment so no one will misuse their right to a point bullying.
Pastor Phelps and his church group went over the line when they protested at the soldiers funeral. They said things in the protest that I believe are untrue and add to the grief and mourning at the funeral. For example they held posters saying, “God Hates You, You Are Going To Hell, and Thank God For Dead Soldiers.” I agree with Rachel in questioning why are they at the funeral to punish the ones who died when it isn’t their fault. They are also going against America because they are being disrespectful to someone who died serving our country. That is why I think Pastor Phelps and the church group didn’t belong a the funeral.
I think there should be limits to the freedom of speech. One reason I think there should be limits is that it seems like people are taking advantage of it. When that amendment was placed in the Constitution, it was given in a good way and some people are using it in a bad way. They did not intend for you to say mean and hurtful things to everyone since the amendment is freedom of speech. I agree with what Sarah S said about how people say whatever they want in school, at sports, or just in the mall, but no one does anything to stop it, and when people do; for example telling a kid to stop, it doesn’t do enough at all to make a real difference. So I think they should make an improvement to the first amendment to stop the people who think it’s okay to abuse it.
I do not think Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protest at funerals because first of all, it’s a funeral, that’s where you’re supposed to take the time to remember a loved one who has passed away. It’s supposed to be peaceful and special for the people that knew him/her. How are you supposed to do that with people protesting and yelling about why they died? Another thing is I cannot believe a church would ever do such a thing. I agree with what Christian S said that Christian’s believe that god loves you for who you are and that’s it, he would never change his mind if you were a homosexual. Pastor Phelps goes against this belief and really hurts people internally as well. Churches should hold the ceremonies for the funeral and help pray for him and his loved ones not create protests criticizing the marine’s sexual orientation. That’s why I think Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals.
The First Amendment provides us the right to free speech but there must be a time and a place for it. The fact that a small church in Kansas decides that they don't like homosexuality should not give them the right to punish a father who recently lost his son. He should have been allowed to bury his son with dignity and without people protesting with signs saying "Thank God for Dead Soldiers". What is really sad is that they might just get away with it. Our country was formed on the right of free speech and its too bad that crazy people try to test that right by being so hurtful and mean. It will be interesting to see how the Supreme Court rules. I think that there should be a right to Free Speech but it should be controlled so that it does not harm and disrespect others. There must be some way to allow freedom of speech without having people like the Pastor and his church think its there right to make a mockery of someone's loss to advance their own agenda.
I think that there should be limits to free speech. I think this because freedom of speech if abused can make people feel bad. I agree with molly when she said, “there should be limits of freedom of speech so this commotion won’t happen again in the future.” Like in the article it said how when Albert Snyder found out about the protest sign’s, it made his diabetes and his depression worse. Another example is how Albert Snyder explained how bad it felt, he said “I look at this as an assault on me,” Snyder testified. "Someone could have stabbed me in the arm or the back, and the wound would have healed. But I don't think this will heal.” Right there is a perfect example of how someone feels about being gay and not strait. Just because they aren’t like other people, doesn’t mean they should be made fun of. They are their own person. It is a right of the people to live, and saying what they said is almost saying they have no right to live. Also what I don’t get is that they all did this at a funeral. That is, to me, very disrespectful. A funeral is for someone’s family member who has died, not for saying all these things about gay people being the reason why our soldiers are dying. So, as you can tell I don’t think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be allowed to protect at funerals.
Based on the information provided and my own opinion, I believe that there should be limits on speech. This is because free speech can be used in harmful and abusive ways, which is seen in the article about how Phelps' protests caused Snyder's depression and diabetes to get worse. The article also brought up the mentality that the freedom of speech can harm people emotionally. Also, the Constitution is a living document with other unwritten laws rights and duties that still apply. One of these rights is that hate speech is not protected by the Constitution. So, verbal expressions against certain groups or people are not protected by the Constitution. This seems like a good limit because it specifies on the terms of which speech is considered hateful. Without any limits on the freedom of speech, there would probably be much tension and conflict within the United States. I believe that people are entitled to opinions, but presenting opinions to convert or act against others in hurtful, dangerous, or deliberately offending way would provoke not debate, but more hate and conflict between people. In short, I agree with Molly and believe that there should be certain limits on the freedom of speech because "some people can abuse it". That is why I think there should be limits on the freedom of speech.
I do not believe that Pastor Phelps should be allowed to protest at funerals. This is because it seems disrespectful to use the event of mourning to further your opinion against a certain group. I think that Phelps is abusing a funeral by using it to justify his belief that God does not support homosexuals. Also, it seems as though the act of an unauthorized use of another's funeral is infringing on the people's right to privacy. As the video showed, the protestors were blaming the death of militia on America's tolerance of homosexuals. This is discriminating against homosexuals and should therefore be classified as hate speech, which is illegal even at funerals. Funerals are religious and private meetings to mourn the newly dead. So, protesting at funerals could be impeding a person's right to freedom of religion and privacy. That is why Pastor Phelps and his church group should not be allowed to protest at funerals.
I agree with molly there should be limits on free speech because some people can get carried away. Even though the constitution dose state no laws will be made limiting free speech there should be. Like the way the school limits that you can’t where shirts or hats that insult people. Protesting at a funeral is wrong. A funeral is something that is done to remember a loved one especially if that loved one gave their life for our country. This young man gave his life protecting innocent people and people would actually ruin the time to thank him. Pastor Phelps should not be able to protest at his funeral. A funeral is a not a place for protesting ever.
This will be a very difficult decision for the Supreme Court. As Professor Andrew Levy in the video stated, the difficulty lies in the "conflict between Freedom of Speech and Freedom to peacefully assemble."
While I do not think that Pastor Phelps should be protesting at a funeral, I do not think that there should be limitations to the Freedom of Speech amendment. Emily brought up a good point: if you start limiting Freedom of Speech, how far will it go?
Pastor Phelps should be ashamed for bringing more grief to an already devasted family. Maybe the answer is not to have limitations of Freedom of Speech, but limits or rules on where protests can take place. Pastor Phelps should have the right to express his opinions but the family of the soldier should have the right to a peaceful funeral. Pastor Phelps could have and should have protested elsewhere. His total lack of feelings for the family is horrible.
I think that people should have the freedom of free speech; however if they start to use it in unappropriate ways then it should be taken away. I think this because pastor phelps and the people of his church did something terribly wrong. What they did by standing in front of the funeral home was just wrong. They had children holding signs and no one should be acting that way. Because if they're going to act that way there just being judgemental, and they shouldn't be the ones to talk because a lot of people can judge them. I'm just wondering here is do they think it right? Because to me it doesn't seem right. But then again its their life but along with Ray I am glad that they got sued; this is because they had no right to do that, I mean how would they feel if other people were doing that about them at their funerals? Any way to get back on the topic no I do not think that pastor phelps should be allowed to protest at funerals.
I think that people should have the freedom of speech. I agree with Jenna R when she said "however if they start to use it in inappropriate ways then it should be taken away." I agree with this because for example, in the video the people outside the church took it to an extreme when they were holding signs with cruel language on them up. I believe that people should only have the freedom of speech if it's appropriate. The Pastor Phelps may have freedom of speech, but he shouldn't have taken advantage of it and made even little children hold up disrespectful signs. Also, I don't think Pastor Phelps should be allowed to protest at funerals. I think it's wrong, and if Phelps had any mutual respect, he would be at least nice enough to stay out of someone else's funeral. I think it was wrong of him to do what he did.
Yes i do think there should be limit on the freedom of speech.I think that the family has been through enough of grief. I believe that when you have a private funeral for a family member, the public should not protest outside.this was not a public event. i think it was emotional stress towards the living family members after all this soldier did die fighting for our country.
I think there should be limits on freedom of speech. I think the limits should state where the appropriate place and time is to protest. Pastor Phelps believes that America’s tolerance of homosexuals is why American soldiers die. He can believe that, and he can protest. However, he should NOT be allowed to protest that at someone’s funeral! As Rachel said, “A funeral is a day to commemorating the one who died, not a protest to say why they died.” It was a private funeral as well, and this was an invasion of the family’s privacy. They wanted to celebrate their son’s life, not be disrupted by protestors saying he died because of homosexuals. This shows that there should be specific places and times where people shouldn’t be allowed to protest. As Olivia O said, “… I think that there should be limits on freedom of speech, but I don’t think it will happen in the future.” I agree with this because statement because in the First Amendment, it says: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech…” So, the government can’t say that you can’t protest at certain times and places. However, they should. I think Pastor Phelps was totally wrong with what he did. He hurt this family and every person with whom his message applied to, mainly homosexuals.
After reading the article and watching the videos, I think that the freedom of speech should be kept the same. I say this because that’s what makes our country great. We are probably the only country with so many freedoms. There are crazy people out there that think that what these people are saying is fine and right, but I don’t think so. Even though I am disagreeing with what they are saying, doesn’t give me the right to sue them or have them arrested. But I can preach my opinion and tell them that they are crazy for it. Those are my rights. They are the same as anyone else’s and I am going to use them. Like Clay said, there shouldn’t be any limits on the freedom of speech but the government should be able to take away that right if the person means to hurt someone. This could lead to possible depression and even suicide. This would never happen if people would just have some common sense and not say these hurtful things in the first place. They should be human beings and realize what they are saying about homosexuality is rude to those people and is probably killing them. I think that Pastor Phelps and his church group should be aloud to protest at funerals. It says in the First Amendment that people have the right to assemble peacefully. This protects Pastor Phelps so that he can protest at the funeral in peace so long as he doesn’t start getting violent. Even though I personally think that he shouldn’t be doing this, he has every right to do so. This is what I think of this topic for the First Amendment.
After reading the articles and watching the video, I believe that Freedom of speech should be changed. Hateful words should not be used to discriminate or harm others, that is why I agree with Molly M. I believe that we should change the first amendment to have freedom of speech, for the exception of in public where you must limit inappropriate and bad language. Also freedom of assembly should be changed to something similar, so it is limiting the discrimination and hatred formed by some groups or organizations.
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