The Supreme Court’s 8 -1 decision in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church and its odious protests at military funerals will likely generate a great deal of (First Amendment-protected) controversy. But one thing it will probably not spur is much commentary on one of the state attorneys general who declined to climb on board the anti-free speech bandwagon: Ken Cuccinelli.
In a press release issued last June, Cuccinelli’s office explained that:
In other words, this was a classic slippery slope. For taking this stand, and in the process becoming one of only two state AGs who did not file a brief on the Snyders’ behalf, Cuccinelli took an immediate hit at home from House minority leader Ward Armstrong. Armstrong, who may still be nursing ambitions of a run for statewide office, said Cuccinelli’s decision made Virginia a national laughingstock. Armstrong was unaware that at the time he was calling Cuccinelli a buffoon, neither Sen. Jim Webb nor Sen. Mark Warner had signed on to the Senate’s brief in the Snyder case. When this was brought to their attention, each man’s office scrambled to join-in the anti-free speech parade.
But their actions, like Armstrong’s, may simply have been political opportunism. Cuccinelli’s stance, though, required courage – not only to stand up for principle, but also to withstand the barbs of those who want to score cheap political points.
In this case, those cheap points were meant to come at the expense of free speech. As despicable as the Westboro Baptist protests have been, church members still have the right to make utter fools of themselves…just as those who disagree with their bile have the right to counter them.
Good on Ken for sticking by his convictions in this case – and being proved, once again, to be on the right side of the law.
