http://burnpit.legion.org/2010/03/put-yourself-in-his-dad%E2%80%99s-shoes/Put yourself in his dad’s shoes
And then reach into your pocket and help this man.
Send checks to:
The American Legion Burnpit
Albert Snyder Fund
P.O. Box 1055
Indianapolis, IN 46206
Payments via credit card can be processed at this link.
Imagine one day you find government vehicles waiting in your driveway, and you know why they are there. And this is the worst moment of your life. But, you know your son died doing what he wanted to do, and you are so very, very proud of him.
And as you get ready to lay him to rest, people from halfway across the country protest outside the cemetery, and you think, this is the very worst moment of my life. As if saying goodbye to a cherished son were not horrific enough for one lifetime, zealots with no sense of taste, decorum or class use your private moment of grieving to pass on their belief that your son died because “God Hates Faggotsâ€.
But, you won’t give in without a fight, because your son didn’t either. So you file suit in court, and first you are awarded vast sums of money for the damage that these miscreants had done to you. But, on appeal, the next court sees the situation differently. See, to you it was never about politics, it was about seeing the blood of your blood go to his silent, eternal rest.
But, it’s not enough that you just lose the case, now you find out that you have to pay these same individuals $16,500 in lawyers’ fees. You see, the protestors themselves are lawyers, allegedly committed to seeing truth and justice prevail. But, to you this isn’t as much about the law as it is seeing that no other family has to go through the pain that you did.
Well, not on our damn watch. This man has suffered enough. So we want to make sure he doesn’t pay one red cent, even though someone will have to. So The American Legion is starting a fund to pay this off, and judging from our previous fund raising experiences here, I anticipate getting all the cash we need. I have already received promises of $200, and I haven’t even posted this yet.
Here is the story from Stars and Stripes in full. I hate to take their entire story, but I will make it up to them over the next few days.
BALTIMORE — The father of a Marine killed in Iraq and whose funeral was picketed by anti-gay protesters was ordered to pay the protesters’ appeal costs, his lawyers said Monday.
On Friday, Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit ordered Snyder to pay $16,510 to Fred Phelps. Phelps is the leader of the Westboro Baptist Church, which conducted protests at Marine Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder’s funeral in 2006.
The two-page decision supplied by attorneys for Albert Snyder of York, Pa., offered no details on how the court came to its decision.
Attorneys also said Snyder is struggling to come up with fees associated with filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The decision adds “insult to injury,†said Sean Summers, one of Snyder’s lawyers.
The high court agreed to consider whether the protesters’ message is protected by the First Amendment or limited by the competing privacy and religious rights of the mourners.
[UPDATE I: I will have more info on how you can help later, after I talk to the lawyers.]
[UPDATE II: This doesn't surprise me, although I did not know it until a few minutes ago, but The American Legion is also in the process of filing an Amicus Brief with the Supreme Court on this issue.]
[UPDATE III: National Adjutant is seeding this with a donation of his own. All funds will go to paying these lawyer fees, then for aiding in the Supreme Court filings, and anything above that will be used for other similiarly situated individuals, since alas, this problem likely will not go away soon]
UPDATE IV: My sincere thanks to the Victoria Taft show on KPAM for having me on. If you’d care to listen, you can do so here.
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This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 30th, 2010 at 1115 and is filed under the burner. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
http://burnpit.legion.org/2010/03/put-yourself-in-his-dad%E2%80%99s-shoes/UPDATE V: Numerous sources saying that Mr Bill O’Reilly is cutting a check, and assuming it is true, GOOD ON YE Mr. O’Reilly. That doesn’t change us though, as a Supreme Court challenge doesn’t come cheap. We will continue to raise funds, and again 100 percent will go to Mr. Snyder’s fight. Thank you all so VERY much.
