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Here's an interesting article about a new law about to be voted on in Indiana:
Any thoughts? As much as I detest the actions of these religious groups, does it justify placing restrictions on our freedom of speech?
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060120/NEWS02/601200535 said:Protests at all funerals targeted
Bill to shield mourners passes state Senate 47-1
By Mary Beth Schneider
mary.beth.schneider@indystar.com
A bill to restrict protests at military funerals for fallen Hoosiers has been expanded to include all burials.
Setting aside concerns about free speech rights, the Indiana Senate on Thursday passed the measure 47-1. The legislation now moves to the House, where it is expected to pass.
Sen. Brent Steele, R-Bedford, sponsored the bill after hearing about a Kansas religious sect that picketed the August funeral of Army Staff Sgt. Jeremy Doyle in Martinsville. The sect hoisted signs with slogans such as "God blew up the troops." Doyle was killed by an improvised explosive device in Iraq.
The group, Westboro Baptist Church, has protested at five other military funerals in Indiana and a total of about 80 military funerals in 30 states, saying that soldiers are dying because of the United States' tolerance for gays.
At the Jan. 10 Evansville funeral of Army Pvt. Jonathan Pfender, killed in December by a roadside bomb in Iraq, members of the church stomped on the American flag and held signs thanking God for the explosives.
The group's invasion of a family's grief is "unconscionable," Steele said.
He amended his bill to cover all funerals after receiving an e-mail arguing that protecting the sanctity of funerals should not be limited to those of soldiers.
The bill makes it a Class D felony, punishable by up to three years in prison and a $10,000 fine, for anyone engaged in disorderly conduct within 500 feet of a grave site, funeral home or funeral procession.
Any thoughts? As much as I detest the actions of these religious groups, does it justify placing restrictions on our freedom of speech?