CINCINNATI — A federal appeals court has upheld an Ohio law that limits picketing at funerals, rejecting an appeal by Westboro Baptist Church, an anti-gay Kansas congregation that has held protests across the country.
Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps, argued that a law amended in 2006 by the Ohio Legislature was unconstitutional because it imposed unreasonable restrictions on speech.
She suggested that attendees could “avert their eyes” from protests and are voluntary participants at funerals.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed, saying the rule “serves an important governmental interest” and is reasonable.
“Friends and family of the deceased should not be expected to opt-out from attending their loved one’s funeral or burial service,” wrote Senior Judge Richard F. Suhrheinrich. “Nor can funeral attendees simply ‘avert their eyes’ to avoid exposure to disruptive speech at a funeral or burial service. The mere presence of a protestor is sufficient to inflict the harm.”
Phelps-Roper and other members of her Topeka church picket military funerals because they believe God is punishing America for its acceptance of homosexuality with deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq. They carry signs with messages such as “Thank God for dead soldiers.”
The court also disagreed with Phelps-Roper’s argument that the law was “overbroad,” ruling it was “narrowly tailored” because it restricts protests within 300 feet of a burial or funeral service. (TAB)
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