Should the Westboro Baptist Church be Legally Censored?
By Brandy Hampton
The Westboro Baptist Church is not a typical church. Their beliefs do not consist of the motto that love conquers all or that Jesus loves the sinner not the sin. Instead the Westboro Baptist Church’s message centers around shaming other communities, especially the LGBTQ+ community. They justify these beliefs with Bible verses. According to one of the members, they were chosen by God to interpret the bible in this way. Members of the Westboro Baptist Church are convinced that God has chosen them to spread the message that LGBTQ+ people will go to Hell. This sense of entitlement is baffling. How can anyone believe they were chosen to judge someone else and cast them into Hell for eternity?
It is also interesting that the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church once served as a civil rights attorney (before being disbarred). It is strange that he would defend something that his denomination does not abide by. The term civil rights itself implies equality. It is hard to fathom an individual who used to stand up for equality is the now same person who works to prevent LGBTQ+ people from attaining it. Having a belief system is one thing, practicing your own religion is another, but spewing hate and targeting LGBTQ+ people for how they live their life is unacceptable in the 21st century.
One issue, in particular, is how does the Westboro Baptist Church impact LGBTQ+ youth? If teens are already being bullied for identifying their sexuality, what kind of message is WBC sending? Many teens would become fearful if they were faced with groups such as WBC, seeing their hate posted everywhere, from their websites to their loud picketing events.
We do, of course, live in a world where freedom of speech is a privilege. But people like the WBC use their speech in such an extreme way that it harms LGBTQ+ people. These extremes have been shown to be illegal in the past (such as in cases like People v. Croswell). If we are to change our society and accept others as they are, why are we allowing groups like this to protest in venues, concerts, and areas where our youth could be present? In fact, Canada has banned these individuals from entering their country because they do not want the Westboro Baptist Church influencing their society, picketing at events, or even protesting funerals. Why are these people being allowed these people to spread their hate?
Brandy Hampton is from Lakeland, Georgia. Brandy is currently working on a master’s degree in Sociology. Brandy loves spending time with their nieces and nephews. Brandy loves reading, writing, shopping, kickboxing. Brandy hopes to publish a fiction novel one day.
