Frankly I don't care about the religious issues in this instance --- 
this was an invasion of the right of families to grieve in private and a 
huge disrespect to the armed forces.  But I think you're right, Linda, 
because this was a civil suit, not a criminal case or a civil rights 
case so it'd be awfully hard to overturn by the Supreme Courts. Hell, I 
don't even consider it a "proper"  church, per se.  I wonder if their 
tax-exempt status with the IRS would be in question - man, I'd love to 
see that happen!

But I will say that some  Catholic parishes are in danger of going 
bankrupt because of the civil suits filed against them for not doing 
anything to prevent child abuses.  I think the line between church and 
state have become blurred - I think it's the flip side of the coin for 
having an Administration who tried to bring the religious Right into 
politics and I think that they are finding there are two sides to the coin.

I recall that the KKK was "broken" a few years ago under the same sort 
of civil law - a civil rights group filed suit against it and won and 
irony of ironies, got the properties as part of the settlement.  I think 
it was the KKK; it could have been another supremacist group.  I'm sure 
someone here will be able to give more details.

Kat

Linda Walker wrote:
> No I don't think it will be overturned. They might adjust the 
> settlement. I hope not. Civil law is the only way to send these 
> messages. Bankrupting them is just. Churches can believe anything they 
> want but they are not free to practice those beliefs when they 
> interfere with the rights of others. One example of this is when 
> Christian Science parents let their children die of preventable causes 
> like a burst appendix because they refuse to take the child to a 
> doctor. Another is the FLDS where Warren Jeffs believes he has the 
> right to give young girls to men of his choosing for sexual and 
> breeding purposes. He can believe it but if he acts on that belief he 
> is criminally liable.
> Fascinating about Matt Shepherd. Did they support Matts killers then? 
> Followed that enough to know the perpetrators were linked to the LDS.
>
> At 03:16 PM 10/31/2007, you wrote:
>> Kat and Linda,
>>
>> Phelps and his ilk have been present in Wyoming quite a bit in the 
>> last ten
>> years - at Matt Shepard's funeral and at the trials of Matt's 
>> killers.  I'm
>> so glad to see this, and hope it bankrupts them, although I've got a 
>> strong
>> suspicion it will be overturned on appeal, because the present 
>> Supreme Court
>> leans toward preserving the rights of "churches," regardless of how 
>> they are
>> constructed.  I went to church with Matt and his family 15 years ago, 
>> and
>> remember Matt as a nice kid who was a good acolyte.
>>
>>
>> On 10/31/07, Linda Walker <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>> >
>> > Yes this is great. I am so sorry for the poor kids born into that hate
>> > cult
>> > masquerading as a religion tho.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> >Someone went after these idiots and won!  I found this group's actions
>> > >unspeakably abhorrent and disrespectful of our solders who gave up 
>> their
>> > >lives for this country.
>> > >
>> > >http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21566280/
>> > >
>> > >Kat
>> > >
>> > >-----------------------
>

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