Free speech....... or something that needs to be stopped?

I was surprised recently to find out that not everyone is familiar with the Westboro Baptist Church. They shouldn't even be called a church. They are mostly all family, related to the pastor, Fred Phelps. They love to go around spreading hate, picketing at the funerals of soldiers with signs saying things like "thank God for dead soldiers", "God hates fags", "God hates America", and other similar signs.

This same group of hateful individuals are planning on picketing at the funerals of the Arizona shooting victims... including the 9-year-old girl. A law was just passed to ban picketing within 1000 feet of a funeral. Many applaud this decision, while others worry about our free speech... and with good reason.

Should they be allowed to picket at funerals? It is sick, wrong, makes Christians look bad...... but if we stop that, what is the next step? The liberals make no secret of the fact that they want to limit free speech - which amounts to shutting conservatives up. They don't care about hateful speech from the left.

Anyone should recoil at the idea of people holding hateful signs at any funeral, much less those of a soldier or a 9-year-old girl. Imagine coming out of the funeral home and/or burial site to see signs rejoicing at your son or daughter's death. No wonder the father of a fallen soldier is trying to sue the church for doing so at his son's funeral.

But what about free speech? Outside of threatening a president - especially the socialist idiot we have right now - it seems we have free rein to say anything - though any anti-gay or anti-Muslim speech is trying to be curbed - but should any of it be curbed? Should we be allowed to say whatever we want to say? Picket at funerals?

Are there alternatives to banning picketing at funerals? There have been some. The last couple of times that this group of people have tried picketing, counter protestors have shown up ion droves to block their view and the view of the bereaved from seeing them. At one, a group of motorcyclists showed up and revved their engines to drown the hateful people out. The tires of the hatemongers were flattened and no on in the town would help them get fixed.

Most of us would change our minds about things we believe if we were in certain situations. Not for the death penalty? If your child was abducted, raped, and killed... you would be. And there are other scenarios. Come out of a funeral where your loved one was buried and see signs rejoicing over the fact - you'd be all for bannning picketing at funerals.

I see it from both sides. The dangers of limiting free speech, and the desire to see these people pushed back as far as possible from these actions. Yet, I am all for allowing protestors at baby killing factories (aka abortion clinics) - and there is no comparison between the two, but there are those who want that stopped - and that is limiting free speech.

I guess what it boils down to, is perspective. If it is something we agree with - protesting at baby killing factories -  we want our free speech rights. If we disagree - these idiots who protest at funerals - we want free speech curbed in that situation. But we can't have it both ways.

So I remain on the fence. On one hand, I want these hateful people blocked from their horrible actions, but on the other.... I worry about limiting free speech. Yes, even of these horrible people. If we start there, we have no way of knowing where it will stop.

Meanwhile, cheers to anyone dedicated to show up and block these people. Keep up the good work, and go ahead and flatten their tires.