Marine Dad Must Pay Westboro Court Fees

* From Military.Com *

Albert Snyder got a bill for $16,500 on Friday — the latest result of his ongoing legal battle with the Westboro Baptist Church.

Church members are seeking to recoup costs from federal appeals court, which dismissed Snyder’s lawsuit against them. Snyder’s lawyer, Sean Summers, said the court declared last week that Snyder was responsible for the costs.

Efforts to reach an official from Westboro Baptist Church were unsuccessful Monday.

Such mandated reimbursements are common after appellate court cases, Summers said.

When the U.S. Supreme Court hears Snyder’s case in the fall, its decision will ultimately make a big difference as to whether or not Snyder can eventually recoup that money, Summers said.

“It’s rubbing salt in an open wound,” Summers said.

The Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, preaches an anti-homosexual message. Members maintain that combat deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan are God’s retribution for America’s tolerance of gay men and lesbian women.

Church members have promoted that agenda with a series of intentionally provocative demonstrations outside funerals of servicemen and women who were killed in combat, during which they chant and hold signs bearing messages such as “Thank God For Dead Soldiers.”

Read more at Military.Com