Congress Passes Bill to Restrict Westboro Baptist Military Funeral Protests

Members of Westboro Baptist protest
a soldier's funeral in 2006.

Congress has passed "The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012," and the bill now awaits the President's signature.

The legislation addresses a host of veterans' issues, including the proposal of significant restrictions on demonstrations at the funerals of military personnel.

Under the new bill, protests may not be staged within two hours prior to or after a funeral, and protestors must maintain a distance of 300 feet from the memorial service.

This legislation is bad news for the psychotic media whores at the Westboro Baptist Church, who regularly stage protests at high-profile funerals, military or otherwise, to spread vitriolic and hateful messages about gays and lesbians, and anyone whom they perceive to be in support of the LGBT community.

Interestingly, not unlike those who have leapt to the defense of Chick-Fil-A President Dan Cathy, Westboro Baptist Church members claim their "freedom of speech" rights are being violated when limitations are placed on their ability to protest at funerals holding offensive placards and yelling cruel remarks. (To be clear though, unlike with Westboro, no one is attempting to legally restrict Chick-Fil-A's right to express its opinions.)

The U.S. Supreme Court actually sided with Westboro in a 2011 case, upholding their right to stage funeral protests, so it will be interesting to see if the new legislation passes judicial muster.

You can learn more than you wanted to know about the lunacy and malevolence of Westboro Baptist Church at their website godhatesfags.com.