The church members were on public land, 1,000 feet from the church, and out of sight of individuals that were at the church. The protest never got unruly and there was no shouting or profanity. These actions follow assembly/protest guidelines and are thus protected by the first amendment.

Westboro's choice of time and place to conduct the picketing didn't alter the nature of its speech

The emotional distress claimed to have occurred by Snyder was because of the content and viewpoint of the message, but the fact that the picketing didn't interfere with the funeral shows that Westboro Church cannot be held liable for the distress

Restricting speech on matters that are private can't implicate the same constitutional issues as the limitation of issues of public speech

The speech of the Westboro members is entitled to "special protection" under the first amendment, and it cannot be restricted because it is upsetting.

The content of the signs related to broad issues of interest to society