American Legion picks up tab for lawyers in Phelps case
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Good news for the father of a fallen Marine who had sued the reprehensible Fred Phelps and his Church of the eternal dung beetle. The American Legion has got his back.
UPDATE: Been authorized to pay it out, build a shell for donations, and to help draft the Amicus Brief for the Supreme Court. So, we are in whole hog.
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 Faggots”.
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.
Well done Legion.