Supreme Court to Hear Challenge of Anti-Gay Protest at Marine's Funeral

The Supreme Court has decided to consider whether the First Amendment gives anti-gay protesters the unrestricted right to picket funerals for fallen servicemen and women with signs saying "God Hates You," among other harsh statements.

The court on Monday agreed to hear the appeal of a lower court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment against such demonstrators. The money had been awarded to Albert Snyder, the father of Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew A. Snyder, whose 2006 funeral in Westminster, Md., was picketed by a handful of placard-carrying members of Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan.

"For the rest of my life, I will remember what they did to me and it has tarnished the memory of my son's last hour on earth," Albert Snyder said. His central claim is that the protesters intentionally did him harm emotionally, according to the New York Times.

The church members, headed by Pastor Fred Phelps, say that they are protesting, in a non-violent way, an American lifestyle and a U.S. military that condones homosexuality. One of the signs at Snyder's funeral read "Thank God for Dead Soldiers."