Supreme Court to Take on Phelps Clan

The Supreme Court convenes this week and is prepared to take on a case that challenges the right of the gay-hating Fred Phelps clan to protest at military funerals.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear preliminary arguments in Snyder v. Phelps on Wednesday. The case involves Albert Snyder, who sued the Phelps clan after they protested his Marine son's funeral in 2006. A court awarded the Snyder family millions in damages related to emotional distress; that judgment was later thrown out by an appeals court. The Supreme Court decided to take the case and will decide whether hate speech is protected as free speech, regardless of whether the target is a private person.

The Phelpses target military funerals -- carrying signs like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "God Hates Fags" -- because they believe soldiers are fighting to defend America's permissive attitudes toward homosexuality.

Read more about the case here.