Congress Passes Restrictions On Military Funeral Protests, Delivers Blow To Westboro Baptist Church

[TrogL]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/02/veterans-bill-military-funerals_n_1733080.html

Westboro Baptist Church protesters will soon be severely limited in their ability to disrupt military funerals, after Congress passed a sweeping veterans bill this week that includes restrictions on such demonstrations.

According to "The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012," which is now headed to President Barack Obama's desk, demonstrators will no longer be allowed to picket military funerals two hours before or after a service. The bill also requires protestors to be at least 300 feet away from grieving family members.

This aspect of the legislation was introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who, at the urging of a teenage constituent, proposed new limitations on military funeral demonstrations as a response to a 2011 Supreme Court case that ruled such actions were protected under the First Amendment.

[msongs]

1. special privileges for military. too bad it leaves out civilians nt

[Behind the Aegis]

2. GOOD!

[Bragi]

3. I hope ACLU contests this unconstitutonal restriction on free speech

I do not support this law and hope it is found to be unconstitutional. We should be more concerned about suppression of free speech than we are about whatever non-violent, protesters might say, however idiotic and even hateful they may be.

The antidote to free speech is more free speech, not suppression of free speech.

[Pab Sungenis]

10. Really easy for one to say

when the free speech isn't being used to abuse them.

[joeybee12]

4. As much as I hate Westboro, since the SCOTUS said such restrictions were

unconstitutional, isn't this also uncosntitutional and therefore just an exercise in futility?

[MNBrewer]

5. Yep

Personally, I love Westboro. They do so much to advance LGBT equality. Every time they show up people see how ugly homophobia is.

[joeybee12]

6. Very true...they show just how awful they are...nt

[stevenleser]

7. Really conflicted over this.

This is different from preventing Chick-Fil-A from operating a business somewhere. People usually gloss right over this, but state and federal government have various roles in allowing businesses to operate, giving them permits, corporate charters, etc. In my humble opinion, local, state and federal governments dont exert enough influence in preventing certain businesses from operating by denying or revocation of corporate charters and such.

Preventing a protester from speaking is another issue. Nothing would please me more than to have the Westboro Baptist Church jerks stop protesting but it is impossible to ignore the pure 1st amendment issues here.

[MNBrewer]

8. From my perspective, that Westboro does more good for GLBT people than harm,

I think it's a terrible thing to ban them. However, I also have noted that hardly anyone OTHER than GLBT people even knew about Westboro before they started protesting military funerals. Once they showed up protesting funerals OTHER than GLBT people, THEN the shit hit the fan for them. On the whole, straight America doesn't really care that much about us (they wish we would shut up and go back in the closet, really). When Westboro protested "true American heroes who died in the service of their country", straight America sat up and payed attention.

[Pab Sungenis]

9. I love this law

but sadly know it's going to get shot down as unconstitutional.

[dickthegrouch]

11. 300 feet away is not so bad

If the 300 foot part gets struck down, presidential "exclusion zones" should be struck down at the exact same time.

If a two hour buffer zone at beginning and end gets struck down, our free-speech protests at Rmoney rallies will also have to be endured.


If it's not clear; I love the dilemma that the supremes will have backed themselves into, and I wish every bad thought possible on the Westboro baptists.

[RetiredTrotskyite]

12. It's About Dmaned Time!!