A church that
protests military funerals across the United States,
claiming the deaths are God's punishment for a country that
harbors gays, is facing possible restrictions in its
home state of Kansas.
A state bill that
keeps protesters at least 150 feet from a funeral was
sent to Gov. Kathleen Sebelius on Thursday. She is expected
to sign it. ''Kansas families will finally have some
modicum of privacy as they bury their dead,'' said
senate majority leader Derek Schmidt.
The small
fundamentalist congregation pickets burials of U.S. soldiers
killed in combat and says the protests are a form of
religious expression protected by the U.S.
Constitution. In response at least 32 states have
enacted laws restricting funeral protests, according to the
National Conference of State Legislatures.
In an unusual
move, the Kansas bill also allows family members to sue if
they feel protesters defamed the deceased. That is an
exception to the general rule of law that one cannot
libel or slander the dead. However, the bill has the
legal novelty of not taking effect until the Kansas
supreme court or a federal court rules it is constitutional.
Legislators added that provision to lessen concerns
that the Reverend Fred Phelps and his followers would
file a legal challenge, win, and collect attorneys'
fees from the state.
Shirley
Phelps-Roper, a daughter of the pastor and spokeswoman for
his Westboro Baptist Church, predicted the law would
have no practical effect on the church's activities.
Phelps-Roper said the group has protested about 250
funerals in the past 21 months in 41 states, focusing their
protests in high-visibility areas, often more than 150 feet
away from the funeral site.
Violators of the
proposed law would face up to a $1,000 fine and six
months in jail. Last year, the house and senate deadlocked
over a final version of the bill, and nothing
passed.The bill also makes it unlawful to obstruct any
public street or sidewalk. (AP)
