Wednesday a $2.9 million verdict against the Phelps family of Topeka and their homophobe Westboro Baptist Church, a Kansas church that picketed the funeral of a Maryland Marine killed in an auto accident in Iraq last year.
It is believed to be the first individual lawsuit against the Phelps, who are infamous for picketing military and other funerals around the country. They do not contend that the dead soldiers are gay, but that their deaths are punishment by an angry God against the United States for its tolerance of homosexuality.
A grieving father, Albert Snyder, sued for unspecified damages after members staged a demonstration at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder.
Family and church members, under the leadership of Fred Phelps, Sr., routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.”
Their actions have prompted several states to pass laws regarding funeral protests and Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal cemeteries.
