Despite United States Supreme Court Ruling Missouri House Passes Resolution Restricting Funeral Protests

Despite a United States Supreme Court ruling earlier this week affirming the First Amendment right of groups such as Westboro Baptist Church to hold demonstrations, the Missouri House Thursday proceeded to put new restrictions on funeral protests, the Associated Press reporting that state lawmakers said they want to keep protesters away from funerals to protect mourners from intrusions and because of fears that violence could be directed at demonstrators. Thursday, the House voted 142-15 to approve legislation that would make it a misdemeanour to protest within 500 feet of a cemetery, mortuary, church or other house of worship from two hours before a funeral to two hours after the ceremony. Violators would face up to six months in jail. The legislation also would make it easier for people to file lawsuits for the infliction of emotional distress against protesters who violate those restrictions. That bill, now headed to the state Senate, arrives after a federal judge declared in 2010 that two Missouri funeral protest laws approved in 2006 were unconstitutional. The legislative efforts are aimed at members of the Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Supporters of Missouri's legislation said Thursday that they do not think the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling would directly affect their measure because that case involved a civil lawsuit and the bill generally involves criminal penalties. "We are creating a crime that has reasonable, time, place and manner restrictions," said Representative Mike Colona (Democrat-St. Louis), an attorney. "That is a completely different standard of review, a completely different area of the law than the case that was decided by the Supreme Court." Opponents say the Missouri legislation inhibited free speech rights and said that the high court's ruling in the funeral protest case strengthened doubts about whether the proposed protest restrictions are constitutional. "We must protect free speech that we hate," said Representative Rory Ellinger (Democrat-University City) "That is the essence of the First Amendment." Others noted that free speech rights are not absolute and already have been limited in some cases. Representative John McCaherty (Republican-High Ridge) said the legislation set rules for protesting and did not restrict what people could say."If Westboro Baptist Church or any other association or something like that, would like to come and protest, you are more than welcome, come on down. But we are setting guidelines. You have the right to do this, but we have the right to tell you when, where and how."