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U.S. Senate bill
would bar Phelps from picketing military funerals

U.S. Senate bill
would bar Phelps from picketing military funerals

Fred_phelps_2

The U.S. Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would ban demonstrations, such as those led by antigay pastor Fred Phelps (pictured), that attempt to disrupt military funerals at national cemeteries.

The U.S. Senate approved legislation Wednesday that would ban demonstrations, such as those led by antigay pastor Fred Phelps, that attempt to disrupt military funerals at national cemeteries. A nearly identical measure passed the House two weeks ago and specifically targeted Phelps's congregation, which has staged protests at military funerals around the country. Members of Phelps's Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., claim that the deaths were a sign of God's anger at U.S. tolerance of gay people. Senate majority leader Bill Frist said the act "will protect the sanctity of all 122 of our national cemeteries as shrines to their gallant dead." The Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act would ban protests within 300 feet of the entrance of a cemetery and within 150 feet of a road into the cemetery, from 60 minutes before to 60 minutes after a funeral. Violators would face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison. More than a dozen state legislatures are considering similar laws to restrict protests at nonfederal cemeteries, but the American Civil Liberties Union has filed suit against a new Kentucky law, saying it limits freedom of speech and expression. (Sirius OutQ News)

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