Document ID: ./input/supremecourt_opinions/opinions/10pdf/09-751.pdf
Page Number: 19.0

Cite as:  562 U. S. ____ (2011) 

15 

Opinion of the Court 

guidance of local officials.  The speech was indeed planned 
to  coincide  with  Matthew  Snyder’s  funeral,  but  did  not
itself  disrupt  that  funeral,  and  Westboro’s  choice  to  con-
duct its picketing at that time and place did not alter the 
nature of its speech.

Speech  is  powerful.  It  can  stir  people  to  action,  move
them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and—as it did here—
inflict great pain.  On the facts before us, we cannot react 
to  that  pain  by  punishing  the  speaker.    As  a  Nation  we 
have  chosen  a  different  course—to  protect  even  hurtful 
speech  on  public  issues  to  ensure  that  we  do  not  stifle
public  debate.  That  choice  requires  that  we  shield  West-
boro from tort liability for its picketing in this case. 

The judgment of the United States Court of Appeals for 

the Fourth Circuit is affirmed. 

It is so ordered.