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Received the following from National PFLAG and wanted to pass it along.........

By ALEX DOMINGUEZ, Associated Press WriterWed Oct 31, 6:23 PM ET

A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against
a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of
a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation's
tolerance of homosexuality.

Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for
unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006
funeral of his son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.

The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It
returned in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in
punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing
emotional distress.

Snyder's attorney, Craig Trebilcock, had urged jurors to determine an
amount "that says don't do this in Maryland again. Do not bring your
circus of hate to Maryland again."

Church members routinely picket funerals of military personnel killed
in Iraq and Afghanistan, carrying signs such as "Thank God for dead
soldiers" and "God hates fags."

A number of states have passed laws regarding funeral protests, and
Congress has passed a law prohibiting such protests at federal
cemeteries. But the Maryland lawsuit is believed to be the first
filed by the family of a fallen serviceman.

The church and three of its leaders — the Rev. Fred Phelps and his
two daughters, Shirley Phelps-Roper and Rebecca Phelps-Davis, 46 —
were found liable for invasion of privacy and intent to inflict
emotional distress.

Even the size of the award for compensating damages "far exceeds the
net worth of the defendants," according to financial statements filed
with the court, U.S. District Judge Richard Bennett noted.

Snyder claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a
private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event.

The church members testified they are following their religious
beliefs by spreading the message that soldiers are dying because the
nation is too tolerant of homosexuality.

Their attorneys maintained in closing arguments Tuesday that the
burial was a public event and that even abhorrent points of view are
protected by the First Amendment, which guarantees freedom of speech
and religion.

Earlier, church members staged a demonstration outside the federal
courthouse. Church founder Fred Phelps held a sign reading "God is
your enemy," while Shirley Phelps-Roper stood on an American flag and
carried a sign that read "God hates fag enablers." Members of the
group sang "God Hates America" to the tune of "God Bless America."

Snyder sobbed when he heard the verdict, while members of the church
greeted the news with tightlipped smiles.

Copyright © 2007 The Associated Press.

--------------------------------------------------------------
Kansas church liable in Marine funeral protest

Wed Oct 31, 2007 7:24pm EDT

By Jon Hurdle

BALTIMORE (Reuters) - A jury on Wednesday ordered an anti-gay Kansas
church to pay $10.9 million in damages to relatives of a U.S. Marine
who died in Iraq after church members cheered his death at his funeral.

Church members said Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder's death was
God's punishment of America for tolerating homosexuality, and they
attended his 2006 funeral in Maryland with signs saying "You're going
to hell" and "God hates you."

The federal jury determined the Westboro Baptist Church, based in
Topeka, and three of its principals invaded the privacy of the dead
man's family and inflicted emotional distress.

Albert Snyder, the Marine's father, testified that his son was not
gay, but the church targeted the military as a symbol of America's
tolerance of gays. Matthew Snyder died in combat in Iraq in March 2006.

The jury awarded Snyder's family $2.9 million in compensatory damages
plus $8 million in punitive damages in the first civil suit against
the church, which has demonstrated at some 300 military funerals the
past two years.

The lawsuit said church Web sites vilified U.S. soldiers, accusing
them of being indoctrinated by "fag propaganda."

"I hope it's enough to deter them from doing this to other families.
It was not about the money. It was about getting them to stop," said
Snyder, of York, Pennsylvania.

The church, which is unaffiliated with any major denomination, is
headed by Rev. Fred Phelps, who has led a campaign against
homosexuality for years. Most of the estimated 70 members of the
church belong to his extended family.

"It will take the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals a few minutes to
reverse this silly thing," Phelps said.

His daughter and co-defendant, Shirley Phelps-Roper, vowed to
continue protesting military funerals and called the court's decision
a blow against free speech.

Outside court on Wednesday, Phelps and his children waved placards
with slogans such as "Pray for more dead kids" and "God hates fag
enablers," while passing drivers and pedestrians shouted abuse at them.

Defense attorney Jonathan Katz urged jurors not to award punitive
damages because the $2.9 million in compensatory damages was already
three times the defendants' net worth.

"It's enough already to bankrupt them and financially destroy them,"
Katz said.

Craig Trebilcock, an attorney for Snyder, said jurors should award
sufficient punitive damages to deter Westboro from repeating its
actions.

I just saw this on CNN - I hope they reject Phelps' appeal!

Unfortunately, ignorance , intolerance, and cruelty abound--and all the while Rev. Phelps and company really believe they are doing God's work and will be rewarded for it one day. There is something terribly wrong with such hate-filled homophobes. I wish they could be enlightened into doing something worthwhile and positive with their time and energy. Peace and Love--Jeanne

You are right Jeanne, but it is all OK. In the end we will prevail, if we keep up the karmic energy. Hate-filled homophobes do represent something wrong--but Dame Julian of Norwitch transcends them all: "All shall be well/And All shall be well,/And all manner of thing shall be well." She's dead right, but it's a long life from our perspective, and that makes us angry and nervous--yes, I go that route too often. It's the pomes & love from people like you & Steve, & Elpe, & Holden that make the time to "All shall be well" joyous.

Cheers, love, joy, peace, & slainte,

Tam/Tom

Tam wrote:You are right Jeanne, but it is all OK. In the end we will prevail, if we keep up the karmic energy. Hate-filled homophobes do represent something wrong--but Dame Julian of Norwitch transcends them all: "All shall be well/And All shall be well,/And all manner of thing shall be well." She's dead right, but it's a long life from our perspective, and that makes us angry and nervous--yes, I go that route too often. It's the pomes & love from people like you & Steve, & Elpe, & Holden that make the time to "All shall be well" joyous.

Cheers, love, joy, peace, & slainte,

Tam/Tom

Tam is right.......and Jeanne is right....but the here and now needs attending to....Phelps, what a sick joker...ignorant...ug!

Yes--Tam--All will be well, and all will be well...at some future time when we will all be gone and hopefully transcend all this ignorance and pain and come into the light of a better (hopefully) place. It's just that we kinda stuck now in a quagmire and i wish i could honestly say and think that things in general will improve on the planet but i cant seem to stir up that optimism. All i can do is to be thankful for what i have and that i do not suffer from lack of the basics in life to survive as do too many others in our world. It becomes increasingly harder and harder to put things into perspective with all the craziness in the world. But i know and i agree that all will be well.. Peace, Love, and Prayers--Jeanne

Dear Jeanne, I did not mean to be flip quoting Dame Julian, only to give some context, if not, perspective. The "optimism" of all shall be well also means working like hell to change things in the now, whenever & wherever that now is, with all its craziness & crap. And quite frankly I believe a good pome is an act of activism that helps overcome the ignorance & pain & the b------ds who do the most to create them. It says that despite them & the fact that the world is not well, damn at least "All is well with my soul." Love you.

Cheers, love, joy, peace, & slainte,

Tam/Tomm

Hi Tam! no, no i did not think you were being"flip" quoting Dame Julian--it's just that it is such a truism--if enough time passes what will really matter on this plane--nothing cuz we will no longer be here. i like the Dame Julian quote--it makes you think about what is really important in the here and now--yes-- putting out as much positive energy as possible is always a good thing and we should all try to do so . We are living in such crazy, unprecedented times--it's scary and not everyone sees or acknowledges it--but you are right--we all need to do our small part at trying to make it better-- it's all we can do. Peace, Love, and Prayers--Jeanne

Dont let fear paralyze you, my sweet lady friend....remember, none of us is going to get out of this life alive...maybe we get to go around again but for now this is all we have..each other..P&L,Steve

i'm not paralyzed by fear--it's more like stupified by all the insanity and atrocities going on all about us... what's happened to humanity and our supposed civilization--love bobbette

life........go figure........