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ACLU Gets Kentucky Law Barring Funeral Protests Nixed

How would you feel if your child gave their life in military service to protect our freedoms and as you attended their funeral to mourn and remember their sacrifice and life lunatic cultists were in your face with signs reading “God Hates Fags” and “Thank God For Body Bags?” Wouldn’t you want a little space? Wouldn’t you feel that your rights were being infringed upon in some way? Well, the freaks of “Westboro Baptist Church” do just that. They seek out military funerals to blast their political message that the deaths of U.S. servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq is God’s punishment for an immoral America and its acceptance of gays. No matter how much of a free speech absolutist you are, you would probably want some space from this cult spewing its hate.

Many states, including Kentucky, have recognized this and passed laws that allow the hate cult to protest while providing a space for grieving families to mourn in peace. Thanks to the ACLU a Federal Judge has just ruled that Kentucky’s law barring protests within 300 feet has just been struck down.

    The temporary injunction comes in a case brought by the American Civil Liberties Union of Kentucky. The ACLU argued that the Kentucky law went too far in restricting freedom of speech when it barred protesters from saying hateful things to mourners at military funerals.

    “Certainly the Commonwealth has an interest in showing respect and compassion for the deceased and for their families, but we cannot allow lawmakers to trample upon the First Amendment in the process,” said ACLU of Kentucky staff attorney Lili Lutgens. “Today, the federal court recognized that even speech that most people find distasteful is still protected by the Constitution.”

The judge wrote that the 300-foot buffer zone “is large enough that it would restrict communications intended for the general public on a matter completely unrelated to the funeral.” The ACLU made the ridiculous argument that the law was broad enough to make it a crime to whistle while walking down the street within earshot of a funeral. Well, back to the drawing board….time to re-write the law and cover all the loopholes this time.

If this would have been an abortion clinic you can bet the ACLU would have been on the other side of the argument.