House bill designed to protect funerals from protesters

(In a segment of his latest newsletter, Rep. Charlie Davis, R-Webb City, addresses a new bill that would protect funerals from the members of the Westboro Baptist Church.)

On April 26, 2013, the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit struck down a statute passed by the Missouri General Assembly back in 2006 creating the crime of "unlawful funeral protest". The purpose of that law was to protect individuals who were burying their loved ones from the disruption of a small, but radical group who are members of a church in Kansas.

In 2005, this "church" began picketing near the funerals of American Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines. They claim a right to this activity in a public place so that they may deliver their religious message to their intended audience in a timely and relevant manner. At the soldiers' funerals, members of this group display signs containing such statements as "God Hates Fags," "Divorce Plus Remarriage Equals Adultery," "God Hates Adultery," "God Hates the USA," "Thank God for Dead Soldiers," "Priests Rape Boys," "Fags Doom Nations," and "9-11: Gift From God." Since 1989, members of this same church have picketed in order to publicize their religious message and to fulfill their asserted obligation to warn society of God's wrath. As a result of this court decision, Missouri residents currently have little protection from this disturbing activity.

Stanley Cox is the sponsor of House Bill 1372 designed to fix the problem in the prior legislation. The obvious challenge is to balance the constitutional protection of free speech for the protestors with the rights of funeral attendees to mourn in peace and privacy. According to the Court of Appeals, the prior language was too broad when it tried to include the “procession” in the protected zone. The language in his bill has been tested in a different case involving the City of Manchester and is not likely to result in the expensive litigation that followed the earlier bill.

The bill’s language states that, " A person commits the offense of unlawful funeral protest if he or she pickets or engages in other protest activities within three hundred feet of any residence, cemetery, funeral home, church, synagogue, or other establishment during or within one hour before or one hour after the conducting of any actual funeral or burial service at that place". A violation of the statute is a B misdemeanor which is punishable with a fine or up to 6 months in jail.

I would be remiss if I did not mention the Patriot Guard Riders for their service all across Missouri and other states. This private organization shows their sincere respect for our lost heroes, their families, and their communities by shielding the mourning family and their friends from interruptions created by any protestor or group of protestors. This organization has done a wonderful service in numerous locations across our state in recent years. Hopefully, this bill will make it through the legislative process, receive the governor's signature and provide even more protection to the families of our fallen service men and service women.