The antigay
Kansas church whose members show up at military
funerals claiming God is killing troops in Iraq to
punish the nation for its tolerance of homosexuality
is asking that a defamation lawsuit be dismissed, on
the grounds that they are merely expressing an opinion.
"There can be no falsehood when mere opinions are stated,"
attorneys for the Westboro Baptist Church said Monday in a
motion filed in U.S. district court.
Albert Snyder, of
York, Pa. is suing the Reverend Fred Phelps and his
Topeka, Kan.–based church after church members
demonstrated at the funeral of Lance Cpl. Matthew
Snyder, and posted pictures of the protest on their
Web site. Snyder was killed in March. Snyder's lawsuit,
filed June 5, alleges church members violated the
family's right to privacy and defamed the marine and
his family at the funeral and on the church's Web
site.
Phelps has denied
any wrongdoing.
Sean Summers, an
attorney for Snyder, says that unlike a rally in a park,
where First Amendment speech is protected, funeralgoers were
a "captive audience," forced to listen and see the
protest. (AP)
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