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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.
I'll probably be in the minority that take the position that is never a good thing when the government butts in to restrict the free speech of others. The courts have already ruled here. You have a right to protest no matter how big of a jerk it makes you.
They threatened to come to WV twice to protest and twice they thought better of it and decided not to come. It did not take government actions for that to happen.
I'll probably be in the minority that take the position that is never a good thing when the government butts in to restrict the free speech of others. The courts have already ruled here. You have a right to protest no matter how big of a jerk it makes you.
They threatened to come to WV twice to protest and twice they thought better of it and decided not to come. It did not take government actions for that to happen.
I agree with you. No matter how loathsome this group is--and before I get bashed here, let me reiterate that I believe they are detestable--it's a slippery slope when the government starts limiting free speech. The groups that have begun forming human walls to shield the funerals from these sickos have been very effective in marginalizing them.
You can't protest inside a hospital or a school, so there are some limitations. They can thrash around all they want 2 hours before and after the service. I especially like that they can't confront grieving family members. They can scream and shout all they want from 300 feet away. Their goal is to do harm to the family members, and that's why this new law is a problem for them. Bravo to those who volunteered to create human walls.
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