But here’s the rub, the irony. Pastor Fred did more to solidify First Amendment protections than most people you or I ever knew. Perhaps inadvertently, but he did nonetheless.
In the holding in Snyder v. Phelps, 131 S.Ct. 1207 (2011), Chief Justice Roberts for the majority noted the following.
Our holding today is narrow. We are required in First Amendment cases to carefully review the record, and the reach of our opinion here is limited by the particular facts before us. As we have noted, “the sensitivity and significance of the interests presented in clashes between First Amendment and [state law] rights counsel relying on limited principles that sweep no more broadly than the appropriate context of the instant case.” Florida Star v. B.J. F., 491 U.S. 524, 533, 109 S.Ct. 2603, 105 L.Ed.2d 443 (1989).
Fred is dead. But the First Amendment lives on. Because despicable people test the protections we count on. Take this character. Do you recognize him?
You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you. Do you understand the rights I have just read to you? With these rights in mind, do you wish to speak to me?
Ernesto and Fred were wastes of flesh. But the rulings and holdings that their cases inspired make us a better country. They help reaffirm that which we knew and know to be true. If these two hominids enjoy Constitutional rights, we all do.
So, rot in hell, you bastards. And thank you.
The Cannibal Cop Is Free! The Thought Police Lose a Big One.