[Above My Pay Grade]

Speaking of Westboro. I was wondering why is it that the Newark police could close off a 6 block radius for Whitney Houston’s funeral, but it is “unconstitutional” to prevent those evil nutjobs from harassing the families of heroes who died in combat, at their funerals?

[rottndog]

Speaking of Westboro. I was wondering why is it that the Newark police could close off a 6 block radius for Whitney Houston’s funeral, but it is “unconstitutional” to prevent those evil nutjobs from harassing the families of heroes who died in combat, at their funerals?

Actually, protesters like WBC are required in most jurisdictions to obtain a permit to demonstrate. In granting the permit, the controlling authority has discretion over where the demonstration may occur. In my experiences dealing with WBC, most times these locations are far enough away so the families can be easily shielded from those idiots. And, since requests for permits are public records, we always know in advance when and where they will be protesting. Makes our job much easier.