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Yes. It was affirmed in a Supreme Court decision as protected, against a law suit brought by a dead soldier's family who sued Wesboro Church for staging a protest at their son's funeral.
I actually agree in the abstract, just like I agree John Yoo should not be removed from the faculty at Boalt.
What do I think should be done? The rightwing Christians used to come to Berkeley and stage their anti-abortion shit outside Herrick hospital back in the 70s and early 80s. I used to drive by honk, flip them off, and yell Fuck You, Get Lost, etc. That was the general sentiment with occasional push and shove matches. There was a whole racist undercurrent, since most of the women using Herrick's outpatient clinic were black or brown, as were most of the staff.
It was really obvious these jerks were not from Berkeley or Oakland or anywhere near here. They eventually went away.
The problem is very complex, because the honest way to purge a community of its worst enemies is ostracism---which is probably what turned Loughner to homocidal mania.
My answer to Yoo, is boycott his classes. Study his theories and destroy them. Open Yoo, face his twisted reason and then beat him in the face with your findings. Well all that is academic as UCB descends into the darkening shadows of an empire sans papiers.
CG