The United States was built upon the notion that everyone should have the right to speak their mind, regardless of what consequences might come with that.  But, with those rights comes the responsibility to, as a good citizen, know what is and is not appropriate to voice.

If we limited the speech of Neo-Nazis (who are usually agreed upon to be a little radical for the average citizen), then who is to say that censorship will not be generalized all arenas and all groups.  Thus, there is no way to censor one group without censoring them all.

I get that.  I understand that we can’t censor voices that we don’t agree with.

And I certainly don’t agree with what the Westboro Baptist Church is planning.  How they got it in their heads that it is okay to protest a completely irrelevant aspect of society at the funerals of 20 innocent children, I’ll never know.

But I do know that it is in extremely poor taste. I am not suggesting for a moment that, as much as I disagree with their politics, that they shouldn’t be able to speak their mind.  That is clearly provided for in the First Amendment.  I am merely suggesting that maybe Newtown is not the best platform for doing so.

Mourning the death of 20 innocent 1st  Graders will be hard enough without a homosexual hate group picketing the sidewalks chanting mantras completely irrelevant to the service.

As a simple acknowledgment of the suffering the town is going through, they should stay home and picket there, instead of upsetting a town that was already turned on its head once this week.

But, asserting their First Amendment rights, they will make a road trip, signs in tow, to picket, to line up on the sidewalks, voicing what they believe to be true.

I guess that is the price of freedom.