Bill to ban funeral protests advances

BOISE – Funerals for both soldiers and gay people may become off-limits to disruptive protesters under a bill lawmakers advanced Wednesday.

Sponsored by Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest River, HB 194 aims to prevent anti-war protesters from disrupting Idaho military funerals, as they have done in other states, by making such actions a misdemeanor. While some lawmakers said the bill could spur free speech challenges, members of the House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee agreed that protecting the sanctity of all funerals is simply “common decency.”

“It’s a sad day when you have to tell people that they have to keep their political views out of the very private grieving that goes on at funerals,” said Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello.

The bill allows prosecutors to target anyone who “maliciously and willfully disturbs the dignity or reverential nature of any funeral.” Other states, such as Missouri and Kansas, have similar anti-picketing statutes, and the language passes constitutional muster as a “time, place and manner” restriction under the First Amendment, said Deputy Attorney General Bill von Tagen.

Earlier this month, Washington Gov. Chris Gregoire signed into law the “Washington Rest in Peace Act” in time for threatened protests at military memorial services in Yakima and Spokane.

In May, President Bush signed the “Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act” prohibiting protests within 300 feet of certain federal cemetery entrances from an hour before to an hour after funerals.

The maliciousness requirement sets a high standard for prosecutors to meet, von Tagen said. Also, if protests occur farther away from a church or graveside funeral service, such as along a funeral procession route, they may become harder to stop, he said.

“Holding a sign outside of a funeral procession is not malicious,” said Rep. Raúl Labrador, R-Eagle.

Although protesters haven’t invaded Idaho funerals, Anderson said, “Across the country, many, many funerals have been disturbed.”

In June 2005, a group of sign-carrying protesters led by Pastor Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas picketed across the street from the funeral of Cpl. Carrie French at Albertson College in Caldwell. An Idaho National Guard soldier, 19-year-old French died from an improvised bomb in Iraq.

Phelps’ group attributes U.S. military deaths in Iraq to Americans’ tolerance of gay people.

Although sponsors looked first to ban protesting solely at military funerals, state lawyers suggested it should apply to all funerals. That benefits families of gays by preventing protests by anti-gay activists, said Rep. Nicole LeFavour, D-Boise.

“Frankly, I feel that there have been more incidents when anti-gay protests happened at funerals,” she said.

Phelps became nationally famous in 1998 when he picketed the funeral of gay college student Matthew Shepard, who was beaten to death in Wyoming.

Anderson said the bill “will survive any constitutional challenge,” adding that it will also protect fallen police officers.

Regardless, “I know that somebody is going to say ‘I have a constitutional right to be out here doing that,’ ” said Rep. Dick Harwood, R-St. Maries.

A federal judge last month upheld Missouri’s law, which also makes it a misdemeanor to protest outside a funeral, after Phelps’ daughter challenged it on constitutional grounds. The court found the motion was sufficiently narrowly tailored, according to the Missouri Attorney General’s Office.

“I guess we will have to let the courts decide how this turns out,” said Rep. Les Bock, D-Boise.

The bill now goes to the House for a vote.