Albert Snyder, the father of a Westminster Marine killed in Iraq whose funeral was protested by an anti-gay religious group, will be featured on a national PBS documentary airing Tuesday describing his own 6-plus-year crusade, which he believes is coming to a positive end.
It all started when his 20-year-old son, Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder, was killed March 3, 2006, in a non-combat vehicle accident during the Iraq War. Matthew's funeral on March 10, 2006, at St. John Roman Catholic Church in Westminster was met with unwelcome guests: members of Westboro Baptist Church, of Topeka, Kan.
Snyder said it is Westboro's belief that God is killing American soldiers because they are fighting for a country that believes in homosexuality. At the funeral, Snyder said Westboro members were holding signs with messages like "Thank God for Dead Soldiers" and "God Hates the USA."
But that wasn't the end of Westboro's harassment, Snyder said.
Following the funeral, Snyder said the church published an article online called "The Burden of Matthew Snyder," attacking the Snyder family for claims of raising Matthew among divorce and adultery.
While Westboro had protested at close to 400 military funerals, Snyder felt the online posting was private, targeted harassment. In June 2006, he sued the church and its leader, the Rev. Fred Phelps, in the U.S. District Court for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Initially, the lawsuit appeared successful and Snyder was awarded nearly $11 million in damages, though the amount was later reduced to $5 million on appeal. Snyder's victory ended up being short lived as Phelps appealed the federal court's decision with the U.S. Court of Appeals with the Fourth Circuit in Richmond, Va. The court of appeals overturned the federal court's decision under the grounds of free speech.
In March 2010, a still determined Snyder took the case before the Supreme Court of the United States. Like the court of appeals, the Supreme Court said it could not punish Westboro for exercising its First Amendment rights. Snyder said the Supreme Court stated it could not make a decision either way regarding the Internet posting.
"They put their rubber stamp on bullying," Snyder said of the Supreme Court decision, made in March 2011.
Now, more than two years later, Snyder said, the lawsuit is working the way he hoped it would.
Despite the Supreme Court's decision, Snyder said 48 U.S. states' attorneys signed amicus briefs supporting Snyder; many of these states and municipalities have since passed their own laws regarding funeral protests.
The even more significant change occurred last August when President Barack Obama signed the Honoring America's Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012. The act makes it illegal to protest within two hours immediately before or after a military funeral.
Snyder said for military families, having that window of time makes all of the difference in the world.
"If you want to throw your arms up in the air and protest, we don't really care as long as we have that time slot to bury our soldiers," Snyder said.
Though Snyder was not present when the act was signed, shortly thereafter he said he received a letter from the president saying that he was thinking about Snyder and his family as he signed the act.
Snyder, who now lives in Lewes, Del., has found other ways of keeping busy in the past two years with speaking engagements at high schools and colleges, in addition to working on a book that he hopes to finish by the end of the year.
"Most importantly, I've lost 85 pounds," Snyder said. "My way of dealing with everything was just eating."
Last fall he was contacted by PBS about being in a segment of a four-part documentary called "Constitution USA with Peter Sagal."
Snyder's segment, dealing specifically with the First Amendment, will air at 9 p.m. Tuesday. It's the second segment of the series, which debuted May 7.
Snyder said he was able to preview the documentary a few weeks ago in Washington, D.C., and was pleased with what he saw.
"When I heard 'four-hour miniseries on the Constitution,' I thought, 'Oh my God, this is going to be really boring,' but they really made it interesting. [And] it doesn't take a side one way or the other. It just gives you the story and you're free to make a decision," Snyder said.
Director Stephen Ives, of Insignia Films, which produced the documentary along with PBS, called Snyder's segment, "an insight of how our country and our Constitution value our rights."
He said while the documentary doesn't "go out of its way to show that we approve of the Westboro Baptist Church," it doesn't condemn the Supreme Court's decision, either.
"[Snyder's] crusade has really made a difference and he deserves a tremendous amount of credit," Ives said. "We don't resort to easy answers because often there aren't any."
Snyder - who has two daughters Sarah, 29, and Tracie, 25 - said he remains forever changed from his son's death.
"I think of Matt every single day," he said.
Though it is some comfort knowing other military families won't be further kicked while they are down.
"When the court couldn't do it for me, the government stepped in and did it," Snyder said. "There's a fine line between free speech and harassment."
