Bob Sparks
The right to express one’s opinion unhindered by the government stands at the top of the list of citizen rights. The founders thought it important enough to rank it first on the list of the Bill of Rights.
With minimal limitation, people can pretty much say what they wish, no matter how distasteful, hurtful or unpopular. The exceptions are slander, libel, defamation or, in the famous Oliver Wendell Holmes case of 1919, the equivalent of “yelling fire in a crowded theater.”
The government may neither filter nor restrain speech before it is spoken or written. If public utterances violate the Constitution or the law, remedies are available. Two recent case histories of the First Amendment in action are instructive.
Fred Phelps is not a household name, but we are sadly all too familiar with his followers. Phelps was the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, whose core beliefs center on hating gays and lesbians. Just so there is no misunderstanding, the Westboro Baptist website address is www.godhatesfags.com.
Westboro’s notoriety comes mainly from pickets at funerals. They are equal opportunity offenders. Military members killed in action, victims of the Sandy Hook elementary school massacre, and a 9-year-old victim of the Arizona mass killings are just a few of the examples of the cruelty of Phelps’ “church.”
Westboro condemns the U.S. as facilitating the gay lifestyle and America gets what is coming to it through tragedies such as these. Among the signs spotted at these:
“Too late to pray”
“Thank GOD for 9/11”
“Fag troops”
“Thank GOD for dead soldiers”
In 2010, PFC Brandon King of Tallahassee was killed in Afghanistan. Westboro’s contribution to the family’s grief: “Thank GOD for IEDs.”
I know his mother, Carolyn “Freda” King, having worked with her in the Governor’s Office. Brandon’s funeral, which I attended, was tough enough, but to endure the protected right of hate peddlers is a lot to ask of Freda, her family and others in the same position. But in this country, they must.
In 2006, the family of Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, killed in action in Iraq, took Phelps and Westboro to court to stop them from hurting other families with their funeral pickets. By an 8-1 margin, the U.S. Supreme Court, while not condoning the content of the messages, upheld Westboro’s right to express its views.
Earlier this month, Fred Phelps died at age 84. People had every right to express their views outside the location of his funeral.
The second case history is far less distasteful, but directly involves First Amendment freedoms. The amendment says:
“Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or of the right of the people peacefully to assemble.”
During the March 12 meeting of the Tallahassee City Commission, frequent city hall critic Erwin Jackson began to use the three minutes allotted to individuals during the public comment period. According to the Tallahassee Democrat, Jackson began “recounting allegations” about Commissioner Scott Maddox “that came up in a previous meeting.”
Shortly after he began speaking, the public microphone was turned off. “We are not going to tolerate personal attacks,” said Mayor John Marks. Jackson was not permitted to continue.
Jackson had run afoul of a public decorum policy the commission passed in September, though enforcement began at this particular meeting. To be sure, Jackson occasionally goes over the line. He once reportedly called Marks “a thug in a suit.”
On Sunday, the issue gained front-page attention in the Tallahassee Democrat as well as an editorial admonishing the mayor and the commission. Barbara Petersen, president of the Florida First Amendment Foundation, was quoted as saying, “I’m sorry, but our commissioners need to thicken their skins a bit.”
She’s right about that.
Let’s adapt the First Amendment to this real-life example. Replace the part where it says, “Congress shall make no law” with “the City Commission shall pass no rule” curtailing a citizen’s right to speak providing he or she meets the time guidelines.
“Government should not see itself as the arbiter of free speech,” said the Democrat editorial. “Government should be in the business of fostering and embracing free speech, as ugly and as inconvenient as it might get when someone without a personal filter gets the microphone.”
Fostering civility must not be confused with defining it. If the U.S. Supreme Court says victims like Freda and Gary King and tens of thousands of others have to sit and take the hate spewed by the Westboro Baptist Church, elected officials can certainly live with the Erwin Jacksons of the world.
They should rethink this policy. Quickly.
Bob Sparks is a business and political consultant based in Tallahassee. Column courtesy of Context Florida.
