The Supreme Court ruled on what may be the most controversial case this term: Snyder v. Phelps. Pastor Fred Phelps leads a small crusade against homosexuality. His Topeka, Kansas based Westboro Baptists Church has become infamous for protesting outside the funerals of fallen soldiers. Soldiers like Lance Corporal Mathew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Snyder’s father, Albert, filed the suit against Phelps and his church for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of distress. Yesterday the Supreme Court decided 8-to-1 in favor of Phelps church. Joining us to help understand the significant social and legal implications to the court’s ruling, we speak with Charles Haynes, director of The Religious Freedom Education Project at the Newseum. And for the future of the Westboro Church’s mission we speak to Mark Potok, director of the Intelligence Project at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
The story you just read is available to read for free because thousands of listeners and readers like you generously support our nonprofit newsroom. Every day, the reporters and producers at The World are hard at work bringing you human-centered news from across the globe. But we can’t do it without you: We need your support to ensure we can continue this work for another year.
When you make a gift of $10 or more a month, we’ll invite you to a virtual behind-the-scenes tour of our newsroom to thank you for being with The World.