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Judge orders Westboro Baptist Church to pay $5 million damages
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The gay-bashing, fundamentalist Westboro Baptist Church must pay $5 million to the father of a fallen Marine for picketing the soldier’s Westminster funeral, a federal judge ruled Monday.
But U.S. District Court Judge Richard Bennett cut by half the amount of damages a jury had awarded in October to Albert Snyder, the father of fallen Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.
Bennett upheld the jury’s decision that the church, based in Topeka, Kan., violated Snyder’s privacy and inflicted emotional distress when members protested at the March 2006 funeral, waving signs reading, “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates you.”
“It is quite clear that the punitive damages award in this case has had no deterrent effect on defendants,” Bennett wrote in his 52-page ruling. “The key factor to be addressed by this court is defendants’ ability to pay the punitive damages award.”
Westboro, its founder, Fred Phelps, and two of his daughters, Rebekah Phelps-Davis and Shirley Phelps-Roper, reported a combined net worth of less than $1 million, according to financial records submitted to the court.
Snyder, of York, Pa., became the first person to win a lawsuit against Westboro, which calls soldiers’ deaths God’s punishment for America’s tolerance of homosexuality.
msilvestri@baltimoreexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
6:33 PM MST on Sat., Feb. 23, 2008 re: "Judge orders Westboro Baptist Church to pay $5 million damages"
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5:20 PM MST on Thu., Jun. 7, 2007
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2:17 PM MST on Thu., Jun. 7, 2007
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9:53 AM MST on Thu., Jun. 7, 2007
re: "Church fails to quash father's lawsuit"
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examiner reader said:
Finally, some sanity against this insane, cruel and unusual band of thugs. I hope all of the other families whose children's funerals were disrupted now sue the Phelps crowd into oblivion. They are a despicable mockery of what it means to be a Christian and hell awaits them.
41 agree | 54 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
I'm totally convinced that the "God" that Phelps and his gang worship is not the God that I worship. Further If their God controls Heaven, I do not want to have anything to do with it! Lastly, I believe, hope, and pray that Mr Snyder will prevail!
99 agree | 94 disagree
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Examiner Reader said:
Perhaps legal fees & potential fines might drive the Phelps clan out of business. The gay community has put up with him & his hate for years...he protested Matthew Shepard's funeral back in 1998 and routinely shows up at the funerals of gay Americans all over the country. I think it's interesting that the rest of America hasn't cared that he has been standing on the United States flag for years but suddenly his whole PR show is unacceptable now that he's doing it at the funerals of America's veterans, gay or straight. He even protested at Jerry Falwell's funeral because in his eyes Falwell was not nearly as anti-gay as he should've been. Rather than sue, the gay community has for years turned Phelps' protests into fundraisers, trying to turn the existence of his hate into something positive...$1 or whatever for every minute that he protests. Phelps may spend some money defending his free speech rights, but I don't think it's enough to silence him or his family forever.
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H Cook said:
I am so glad to hear that a court in my America has the guts to stand up and fight these sadistic protesters. I am a member of the Patriot Guard Riders and have seen first hand what these so called "Christians" do and how much grief they cause the families of our service men and women to endure. I certainly hope that the laws of our land are upheld and those of Westboro Church are monetarily destroyed and are never able to attend another funeral. But, rest assured that if they do attend another service persons funeral, the Patriot Guard Riders will be there to protect the brave soldiers families from any type of harassment. We ARE the Patriot Guard......Riding with Respect!!
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