Fred Phelps may have caused Wisconsin to
go too far to shut him down.
Protesters who gather outside a funeral could face jail time and fines under a bill a bipartisan group of state lawmakers proposed yesterday.
The measure is designed to stop members of a Kansas-based church who have protested outside the funerals and visitations of about 80 soldiers nationwide, including three in Wisconsin, the legislators said. The church, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, believes God is killing American soldiers because the United States accepts homosexuality.
The bill would prohibit protests within 500 feet of a funeral, wake, internment or memorial service for an hour before and after the ceremony.
There is nada, zip, zero justification for restricting free speech in this manner. The bill doesn't just prohibit the type of protests that Phelps and his bunch wage--but even legitimate, peaceful protests. It could easily be turned back on us in the future.
What makes it even less defensible is that there are legitimate means already on the table to keep Freddy Boy on a short leash.
Todd Nehls, the sheriff of one Wisconsin county where Freddy Boy paid a visit, has mixed feelings on this law.
Nehls said of the bill introduced yesterday: "Anytime we can shield grieving families and loved ones while they are paying their last respects -- any way we can protect them -- is a good thing."
On the other hand, he said, the Westboro group's message, as reflected in its picket signs, incites violence, and that can be enough under existing laws to arrest members for disorderly conduct.
If that isn't enough for the legislature, why not pass the law only in an amended version that makes any funeral protest in a manner that could be reasonably expected to incite violence unlawful? That would clear up any ambiguity.
Plus, there's one other route the good folks in Wisconsin are forgetting about--civil suits. Freddy Boy's protests seem to be a textbook example of intentional infliction of emotional distress. That tort's been thrown out in a few states (including North Carolina) since too many people used it as an end run around filing a libel suit. But it's probably valid in enough states that a few lawsuits here and there would make Phelps (whose church is little more than himself and several generations of his family) bankrupt in short order.
There's another problem with this bill--the punishments don't fit the crime.
Protesters who violate the bill's conditions would face a misdemeanor punishable by up to nine months in jail and a $10,000 fine. A second violation would be a felony offense, punishable by up to 3½ years in prison and $10,000 in fines.
As far as I'm concerned, this is merely disorderly conduct--a misdemeanor. Not only that, but there is no differentiation between mere peaceful protest and protests that any reasonable person would find to be inciting violence. There's no sense of proportion here.
cross-posted at The Christian Dem Home Journal