A potential law is making its way around Wisconsin right now.
Funeral protest measure advances
Lawmakers hope to limit demonstrations at troops' services
By STACY FORSTER
[email protected]
Posted: Feb. 1, 2006
Madison - In a clash between the constitutional right to privacy and the right to free speech, lawmakers on Wednesday advanced a bill that would limit protests at funerals in Wisconsin.
The measure is intended to curtail protests at military funerals by representatives of the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Church members have protested outside the services for three Wisconsin National Guard members who died in Iraq. The group says the deaths of the military personnel were God's revenge on the United States for its acceptance of homosexuality.
The bill is headed for a vote in the full Senate today after being cleared Wednesday by two legislative committees.
Some lawmakers raised concerns that the bill would give the protesters too big a platform, but most agreed legislation should be enacted to stop such conduct as long as free speech is not curtailed.
Three representatives from the 80-member church were the only people to testify against the bill during a public hearing Wednesday. They vowed to test the constitutionality of the measure if it became law and they felt their rights were being violated.
"The rule of law in this country is you have to be circumspect and direct when you restrict speech," said Margie Phelps, an attorney for Westboro Baptist Church and daughter of the Rev. Fred Phelps, the church founder.
The bill would require that protesters stay 500 feet from a funeral, wake or memorial service, for at least an hour before it begins and until an hour after it ends. To address the constitutionality issues, the measure is written broadly so that it would apply to any funeral.
Anyone who violated the law would face misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and could be fined up to $1,000 and jailed for up to 90 days.
Sen. Ron Brown (R-Eau Claire) is the bill's co-author and chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans, Homeland Security, Military Affairs, Small Business and Government Reform, which held the hearing in conjunction with the Assembly's Committee on Military Affairs. He said that the measure was a reasonable compromise that lawmakers believe would pass constitutional muster.
"It protects the safety of those who are grieving and those who wish to communicate their message," Brown said during the hearing.
Gov. Jim Doyle has worked with lawmakers to pass the bill and intends to sign it, said spokesman Dan Leistikow.
Before the hearing, the three women from the church staged a protest outside the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, across the street from the Capitol.
The women held signs that said such things as "Thank God for 9/11," and the group sang parodies of songs such as "God Bless America" with lyrics critical of tolerance for homosexuality.
Rep. Terry Musser (R-Black River Falls), the bill's co-author and chairman of the Assembly's Military Affairs Committee, sipped coffee as he took in the protest.
"I wanted to see democracy in action," Musser said. "It never ceases to amaze me that the very people who they're protesting are the very people who give them the right to act like idiots."