Consider Bans On Protests at Funerals By Kari Lydersen, Washington Post Staff Writer
At least five Midwestern states are
considering legislation to ban protests at funerals in response to demonstrations by the Rev. Fred Phelps and members of his Topeka,
Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church, who have been protesting at funerals of Iraq war casualties because they say the deaths are
God’s punishment for U.S. tolerance toward gays.
Though the soldiers were not gay, the protesters say the deaths, as
well as Hurricane Katrina, recent mining disasters and other tragedies are God’s signs of displeasure. They also protested at the
memorial service for the 12 West Virginia miners who died in the Sago Mine. …
Shirley Phelps-Roper, Phelps’s daughter and an
attorney for the church, said if legislation passes, the group will challenge it in court. “Whatever they do would be unconstitutional,”
she said. “These aren’t private funerals; these are patriotic pep rallies. Our goal is to call America an abomination, to help
the nation connect the dots. You turn this nation over to the fags and our soldiers come home in body bags.“