US Constitution 'protects anti-gay protests'

The US Supreme Court has ruled that the Constitution protects fundamentalist church members who mount anti-gay protests outside military funerals, despite the pain they cause grieving families.

The court voted 8-1 yesterday in favour of the Westboro Baptist Church, upholding an appeals court ruling that threw out a $5 million judgment to the father of a dead US marine who sued church members after they picketed his son's funeral.

Matthew Snyder died in Iraq in 2006 and his body was returned to the United States for burial.

Members of the Westboro church decided to protest outside the church where his funeral was to be held.

The Rev Fred Phelps and members of his family, who make up most of the Westboro Baptist Church, have picketed many military funerals over several years, in their quest to draw attention to their incendiary view that American deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.