Thursday, March 3, 2011

Sarah Palin Opposes Free Speech Ruling

Sarah Palin tweeted a scathing reply to the Supreme Court's decision that the First Amendment protected the Westboro Baptist Church from being sued after they picketed the funeral of a dead marine. While I would never attempt to justify what the Westboro Baptist Church does, I do think Palin reveals her lack of understanding of the Constitution in her tweet. For someone who is so adament about protecting individual liberties, it seems extraordinarily hypocritical to deny those liberties to a group just because you find them disagreeable. It makes me wonder if Palin has ever studied Colonial History or read the Federalist Papers.

2 comments:

TJE said...

"Our profound national commitment to free and open debate is not a license for the vicious verbal assault that occurred in this case," Alito wrote in his dissent. Just saying.

Ian Thresher said...

I am well aware of what one of the Justices said. In his opinion, Alito ignores judicial precedent and many of the founders' most cherished beliefs. Speech is intended to provoke and kindle debate and I think Alito seriously overlooks the consequences of his decision. The Westboro Baptist Church is, in many ways, indefensible, which is exactly why the Court made the right decision. No matter how unpopular or aggravating a group makes itself, free speech rights should never be compromised. Palin, like most Americans, reacted viscerally to this decision and criticized it without understanding any of the history or importance of free speech to unpopular, minority groups.