Name: Circle Period # 8A / 8B

Freedom of Speech and the Westboro Baptist Church Homework

Directions: Study the First Amendment to the Constitution, study the court case, and answer the question.

First Amendment (With Free Speech Clause Underlined):

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Understanding the Text
Why protect freedom of speech? When the colonies were ruled by the King of England, people were not always free to speak their minds. People could be arrested for criticizing the King. When America became a democracy, the right of the people to speak their minds, especially about the government, had to be protected. Freedom of speech exists especially to protect the right of the people to say things that the government does not like. A question faced by the Supreme Court has been this: Does the free speech clause protect the right of people to say anything, anywhere, at anytime? If not, what are the limits?

CASE 2:
Snyder v. Phelps (2011)

On March 3, 2006, U.S. Marine Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder was killed in Iraq. On March 10, the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) protested at Snyder's funeral in Westminster, Maryland, as it had done at thousands of other funerals throughout the United States, carrying signs with slogans such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.” They believe God is allowing soldiers to die because He is angry at the United States for the country's increasing tolerance toward homosexuality, which they oppose. Albert Snyder, Matthew's father, sued the WBC for disturbing his son's funeral, claiming that their actions were too offensive to be covered by the First Amendment's “Freedom of Speech Clause.”

Questions

1) Do you think the First Amendment's Free Speech Clause protects the right of the Westboro Baptist church to protest at soldier's funerals carrying signs that say things like “thank God for dead soldiers”? Explain in at least 5-8 sentences.

2) Let's say hypothetically you learned that the Supreme Court ruled that the Westboro Baptist Church's actions were protected under the First Amendment--- would you then support changing the First Amendment to make it illegal for people to say things like this? Write at least 4 sentences explaining why or why not.