Appeals Court to Review Ruling Favoring Westboro Picketing
A federal appeals court in Missouri said Wednesday it will review next month whether one of its cities can ban funeral protests by the controversial Westboro Baptist Church, mostly known for picketing at military funerals and for its extreme anti-gay views.
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals of St. Louis will review on Jan. 9 the decision of a three-judge panel in October that found it unconstitutional to ban funeral protests in Manchester, Mo., ruling in favor of the Topeka., Kan., congregation.
Westboro Baptist Church is unaffiliated with any Baptist denomination, and is a small congregation made up primarily of the family of its head pastor, Fred Phelps.
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The decision of the appeals court will also affect Nebraska’s Funeral Picketing Law, which would have prohibited protesting within 500 feet of a funeral. Nebraska’s Funeral Picketing Law was not enforced after the 8th Circuit panel’s ruling in October, which reversed the ruling of a lower court in Nebraska. Nebraska’s law will remain pending until the appeals ruling.
“We are pleased the entire court will review this decision,” said Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning, in a statement.
“We continue to believe the families of fallen soldiers should be protected from the hateful protests of Westboro Baptist Church members – they deserve to grieve in peace.”
Westboro will be represented by the American Civil Liberties Union of Eastern Missouri during the appeals case.
The ACLU in an earlier interview explained to The Christian Post why it would defend WBC.
“The ACLU of Florida believes no bereaved family should be subjected to hurtful, misguided, or contemptuous protests at their loved one’s funeral,” said ACLU of Florida Communications Director Derek Newton when Florida was considering restrictions on funeral protests.
“We also clearly oppose government restrictions on the free exercise of speech – including forms of protest.”
In November, Florida legislators introduced bills to add restrictions to funeral protests, including prohibiting picketing within 500 feet of a funeral. Several state legislatures have passed similar restrictions, with varying distances for protestors. Montana has the greatest distance, prohibiting funeral protests within 1,500 feet of a ceremony.
WBC’s protests have generated much backlash nationwide, with many legislators and mourning families having sought to restrict or ban Westboro from picketing at funerals.
In March, the United States Supreme Court ruled in favor of WBC in an appeal against a father who sued them for protesting at his son’s funeral. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the majority opinion in the case Snyder v. Phelps that “even hurtful speech on public issues” must be protected “to ensure that we do not stifle public debate.”
Missouri itself had an act passed in 2006 that banned all protests at funerals that was later struck down by a federal judge. Named the “Spc. Edward Lee Myers Law” after a Missouri soldier killed in Iraq, the act made it unlawful for a protest to be held at a funeral site from one hour before the ceremony until one hour after it.
Although the act was successfully defended in federal court in 2007, it would eventually be struck down by a judge in 2010.
