05-25-2006, 11:56 AM
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#67 (permalink)
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Crazy
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Quote:
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Originally Posted by pan6467
Much ado about nothing.
If the worst "partisan" thing said at the funeral was what Carter said, and the GOP are all up in arms and crying foul..... then they need to get lives.
As said above: A left winged activist, who was very vocal against what she deemed wre wrongs in society and government, has people saying left winged ideals and speaking out against the President....... OMG that is a fucking outrage how dare people speak out. How dare people criticize the president at the funeral of an activist who spoke out against the president while she was alive.... Send them all to prison camps, they must be terrorist sympathizers also, obviously they are unpatriotic, using that pesky 1st Amendment at a funeral.
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Is it safe to say you oppose THIS law on 1st Amendment grounds?
Link
Quote:
Senate OKs cemetery protest bill
BY ALAN BJERGA
Eagle Washington bureau
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate passed a bill Wednesday that limits funeral protests at national military cemeteries, making it virtually certain that a federal response to Topeka minister Fred Phelps' pickets will become law.
President Bush is expected to sign the Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act, which would prevent disruptions of military funerals at national cemeteries for one hour before and after a service.
But a daughter of Phelps said the legislation won't curb pickets led by Phelps' Westboro Baptist Church. Margie Phelps called the bill an ineffective attempt to protect "patriotic pep rallies."
The bill also bans protests within 500 feet of those funerals. Offenders could face a fine and/or up to one year in prison under the bill.
"Loved ones of our fallen men and women in uniform have already made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation," said Sen. Pat Roberts, R-Kan. "We must allow them the right to mourn without being thrust into a political circus."
The bill, which passed the Senate by voice vote, passed the U.S. House of Representatives 408-3 earlier this month. It's not as broad as several other state and federal bills that target Phelps' church, whose members picket military funerals nationwide to protest what they claim is God's vengeance against America for supporting homosexuality.
Because most cemeteries aren't national cemeteries, the law won't affect most places where protests would occur. Roberts' spokeswoman Sarah Little said Congress supported narrower restrictions out of concerns that any limits applied to nonfederal property might not survive a court challenge.
Dozens of states have passed or are passing their own restrictions, she noted. An attempt to pass a picketing ban in the Kansas Legislature failed earlier this month when the House and Senate couldn't agree on language for a final bill.
The state House supported a broad ban, which the Senate feared would lead to a court challenge.
"Most places we picket are not federal, and we keep a good distance anyway," Margie Phelps said.
Phelps said the church doesn't intend to take any legal action against any picket legislation unless it truly would make it impossible for the protests to take place.
Westboro Baptist plans to picket a funeral at a Baptist church in Kentucky today, according to its Web site.
"We are very nimble and flexible," she said. "This evil law passed by the American Taliban, also known as the United States Congress, is not going to stop us from delivering the message that America is doomed," Margie Phelps said.
Cregg Hansen of Derby is a state co-captain of the Patriot Guard Riders, a group of motorcyclists who place themselves and a screen of U.S. flags between funeral mourners and Phelps picketers. Hansen said he wished the federal law went further, but that the group would continue providing a buffer as long as necessary.
"The Patriot Guard is going to be there regardless, to support the family and honor the soldier," he said.
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