BALTIMORE — A grieving father won a nearly $11 million verdict Wednesday against a fundamentalist Kansas church that pickets military funerals out of a belief that the war in Iraq is a punishment for the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.
Albert Snyder of York, Pa., sued the Westboro Baptist Church for unspecified damages after members demonstrated at the March 2006 funeral of his son, Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq.
Church members routinely picket military funerals, carrying signs such as “Thank God for dead soldiers” and “God hates fags.”
Snyder claimed the protests intruded upon what should have been a private ceremony and sullied his memory of the event. The church members testified they are following their religious beliefs.
The jury first awarded $2.9 million in compensatory damages. It returned later in the afternoon with its decision to award $6 million in punitive damages for invasion of privacy and $2 million for causing emotional distress.
