[Dion]

Originally Posted by Flamesoholic

I honestly don't understand how these losers are allowed to continue doing what they do. How far does the First Amendment go to protect them? How does what they are saying and doing not constitute a hate crime or hate speech? What about calling what they do "bullying", isn't that a crime in the States? I just don't get it.

The Obama administration will not label Westboro Baptist Church a hate group, saying it's not the government's practice to apply the designation.

On Tuesday, the White House posted its response to the Westboro petitions.

Officially, the response to the requested hate group designation was "no comment."

"As a matter of practice, the federal government doesn't maintain a list of hate groups," the White House said.

Instead, labeling hate groups is the job of private groups such as the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League, the White House said.

But the administration did comment on other aspects of the petitions, agreeing that protesting at military funerals - one of Westboro's favorite practices - is "reprehensible." An animated map posted online shows what the White House says is opposition to the church spreading across the country.

"We agree that practices such as protesting at the funerals of men and women who died in service to this country and preventing their families from mourning peacefully are reprehensible - a point that President Obama has made for years," the White House said.

In response to Westboro, Congress and Obama enacted a law in 2012 restricting protesters' time at, and proximity to, military funerals. The law followed a 2011 Supreme Court decision upholding Westboro's free speech rights to protest at funerals

http://religion.blogs.cnn.com/2013/0...omment-page-1/