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The Washington Post Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder
Marine's Dad Sues Funeral Protestors
POSTED: 6:21 am EDT June 6, 2006
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GREENBELT, Md. -- The father of a Marine whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters from a fundamentalist Kansas church filed an invasion-of-privacy suit against the demonstrators Monday.
It is believed to be the first lawsuit brought by relatives of a member of the military against Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., whose congregants demonstrate at military funerals around the country.
Albert Snyder of York, Pa., father of Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder of Westminster, seeks unspecified damages for the virulent messages held by protesters outside his son's funeral. The younger Snyder, 20, died March 3 after an accident in the Al Anbar province of Iraq. He was buried in Westminster.
The church has inspired 31 state laws banning funeral protests, including a new law in Maryland that took effect after Snyder's funeral.
After filing the suit, Albert Snyder told reporters at a news conference in Pennsylvania that he hoped a hefty judgment would make the church's members unable to afford travel for more protests.
"I want it to stop," he said of the Westboro protests. "I didn't know there were people in the world who did that. I couldn't believe it."
At the funeral, Snyder said, "I went to find closure for the loss of my son. ... I was confronted with hatred."
Snyder's lawyer, Sean Summers, said the defamation lawsuit is a first against the church stemming from a military funeral protest.
"We think it's a case we can win because anyone's funeral is private," Summers said Monday after filing the lawsuit. "You don't have a right to interrupt someone's private funeral."
The lawsuit seeks damages for invasion of privacy at the funeral. It also accuses the church of defamation for derogatory comments about Snyder placed on the church's Web site.
Summers said he has gotten calls from relatives of three other servicemen after news of the Snyder lawsuit was published. He said more lawsuits are likely for the "outrageous" protests.
"We believe the jury will do the right thing at the end of the day and give him a large jury award," Summers said.
Members of Westboro say the military deaths in Iraq are God's punishment for America's tolerance of gays. They typically carry signs with slogans such as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for IEDs," a reference to the roadside bombs used by insurgents.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, a church member who frequently acts as spokeswoman for the small congregation, also said it was the first time Westboro has been sued by the relatives of a dead service member. A counter-lawsuit was planned for abrogation of speech rights, she said.
"What was it we did? Seven people standing in the back of the building?" she said. She said only seven people picketed the funeral, fewer than the number of counter-protesters who showed up to support the family after learning Westboro members would attend.
"We were exercising our First Amendment rights," she said.
Albert Snyder said most people disagree that the protest was protected speech.
"I'm amazed at the number of people who have called and said, 'We're behind you 100 percent.' People want these people off the street," he said.
--- On the Net: Snyder family: http://www.matthewsnyder.org
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