Attorney general will appeal Westboro Baptist Church decision

A federal court decision declaring Missouri's funeral protest laws unconstitutional will go to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals.

In documents filed Thursday, Attorney General Chris Koster announced his intention to appeal the decision, which allows the Westboro Baptist Church to protest at soldiers' funerals.

The appeal came one day after Koster filed a motion opposing the American Civil Liberties Union's attempt to force taxpayers to pay $172,046.25 in legal fees, plus $3,335.40 in expenses.

That request was made possible when Judge Fernando Gaitan ruled in favor of the church Aug. 16, striking down Missouri laws which restricted the times protests could be held at funerals and required protesters to maintain a distance of at least 300 feet from the funerals.

The Westboro church has made a practice of protesting at military funerals, claiming that the deaths of American servicemen is God's method of punishing the country for its tolerance of homosexuals.