Fred Phelps was a civil rights lawyer. His friend : Al Gore. He even got an award from the NAACP.
Posted on 05/31/2006 7:29:46 AM PDT by ConorMacNessa
Associated Press | May 25, 2006 WASHINGTON - Demonstrators would be barred from disrupting military funerals at national cemeteries under Legislation approved by Congress and sent to the White House Wednesday.
The measure, passed by voice vote in the House hours after the Senate passed an amended version, specifically targets a Kansas church group that has staged protests at military funerals around the country, claiming that the deaths were a sign of God's anger at U.S. tolerance of homosexuals.
The act "will protect the sanctity of all 122 of our national cemeteries as shrines to their gallant dead," Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., said prior to the Senate vote.
"It's a sad but necessary measure to protect what should be recognized by all reasonable people as a solemn, private and deeply sacred occasion," he said.
(Excerpt) Read more at military.com ...
Good riddance to these annoying fanatics!
Congress finally did a GOOD thing
The senatorial eunuchs are grandstanding, that's all.
It doesn't take much courage to stand up against a fruitcake - let's see similar resolve on more substantive issues before praising these solons.
I will state this: IF God Forbid I have to attend a funeral of someone or a family I know, I really would be hard pressed to not to do something that will involve words like assault, sending to hospital, arrest, jail, and court and lawyers.
That being said I ask the question: Should we place a law esentially outlawing free speech? Is this the best way to handle this? these loons should be dealt with but clamping down on free speech is a slippery slope.
Remember the Clinon era laws against pro life demonstrators, including siccing the justice dept and rico statutes to destroy their lives.
It can happen again...
I would hope that state legislatures would place a law in effect stating that assaulting one of these idiots at a funeral would only be a ticketable offense like speeding or running a stop sign.
Congress should keep out IMHO. Legislatures, city councils, mayors should be the ones to pass local ordinances. And yes, the bikers and friends of the family were doing just fine.
Few things are more insidious than a bad law in a good cause.
It's a shame that that congress had to do something like this. Something is wrong with those protesters.
I'm waiting for the ACLU's final word on this .. .what do you want to bet they'll get some activist judge to throw out that law under "free speech"?????
It wouldn't surprise me in the least.
As much as I hate Phelps and the scum that travel with them, restricting free speech is not a good thing.
Even so, I'd love to kick the bejeezus out of any anti-war protestors - it's MY freedom of expression, afterall.
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