No pictures intentionally. This evil group gets no free advertising.
Westboro Baptist Church protesters will soon be severely limited in their ability to disrupt military funerals, after Congress passed a sweeping veterans bill this week that includes restrictions on such demonstrations.
According to “The Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012,” which is now headed to President Barack Obama’s desk, demonstrators will no longer be allowed to picket military funerals two hours before or after a service. The bill also requires protestors to be at least 300 feet away from grieving family members.
This aspect of the legislation was introduced by Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-Maine), who, at the urging of a teenage constituent, proposed new limitations on military funeral demonstrations as a response to a 2011 Supreme Court case that ruled such actions were protected under the First Amendment.
Let’s hope the work of this Congress puts some teeth in the law and that Westboro will not longer be able to manipulate and bastardize the First Amendment to dispense their hate, often at a military family’s most vulnerable time. Westboro will continue to act inappropriately, for sure, but at least our military families will be insulated by a layer of protection. There are just some lines people shouldn’t cross and this is one of them, in my opinion.
Its good to see that Congress can finally get something done.
Although, I agree with the intent to insulate military families from hate demonstrations, I am not even cautiously optimistic that it would survive a constitutional challenge. It sure sounds like something that would be a direct infringement on free speech.
After all, laws preventing desecration of our flag have been declared unconstitutional.
I hope I am wrong about its constituionality.
I am personally glad that some bill related to the contamination of the water wells at Camp Lejeune (going back to 1957) has at least gotten out of Congress and on the way to President for signature. Took three years to get some bill out, and for once, I can smile that Congress actually did some work…LOL! Being a “Camp Lejeune Water” kid myself, this is great news!
@Clinton, Perhaps the time constraints alter the infringement on !A rights. I hate these creeps.
@Ray
Will you please fill us in on the history here when you have a chance. I don’t know anything about the contaminated wells. I would like to say before my time but such is not the case.
We the people should act. Not sit back and wait for “someone” to do something. Why we have the overreaching government we have.
The ACLU should have this puppy overturned lickety-split.
I hope you are wrong but I wouldn’t place any bets.
I put free speech disrupting funerals in the same category as yelling fire in a crowded theater, there is some free speech that is harmful. I am also not real fond of the desecration of our flag decision either.
What is especially troubling about the SCOTUS decision on Westboro is that it extends first amendment further to private civil actions.
I guess “Congress shall make no law…” doesn’t mean that it is only Congress that is restricted (By the way, I also know that the 14th extends it to states/local).
But don’t forget the case was between Westboro and the father of the fallen hero. Not between the government and Westboro.
@Clinton, I get confused and depressed when we veer so far from right being right and wrong being wrong. I like a world where those two ideas are pretty constant.
Initally, the wells contimanated were those in the two big housing areas: Tarwara Terrace I and II. There was a dry cleaners across the highway from the housing that for years just let the dry cleaner chemicals being stored in drums leak into the soil, and when cleaning out the equipment, just let the water flush out the door. No covered storage of the dry cleaning chemicals – either new or used drums – which leaked out. We are talking about around three decades worth of those chemicals getting into the underground aquifier from which the Base had tapped into for housing. And this was all before water treatment plants were set up to filter such stuff.
On the Main Base, they found the wells contimated from years of dumping washwater, storing chemicals, etc etc etc. All of it can simply be related to the 50s through the 70s where it was okay to just dump the stuff, or bury it as occured on the Main Base.
Cancers, Birth Defects and other disabilities all began showing up in higher numbers. The issues around it started to be raised in the late 1980s with full investigations running off and on through the 1990s. Initally, lots of stonewalling occuring by the Department of Defense and Department of the Navy. The Center for Disease Control did set up a National Registry where you can get on it as one of the people possibly affected.
Beginning in the Mid-2000s, several Congressman started to put in bills so that the military who had served there and their dependents, if their health issues could be traced back to having spent time at Camp Lejeune and especially if residing in the areas where the contamination was the highest, would be eligible for medical care through the Veterans Administration. V.A. was chosen as there are more of those facilities around than other military health clinics. Finally one has been passed.
That’s the story in a nutshell, Moon. I lived in Tarwara Terrace from 1960 to early 1965 and so I am one of the “Water Kids” as a friend of mine calls us on the website she runs. Many of been severly affected, and at the moment, I have no issues I could relate to that time. Although my family thinks the health issues of my oldest sister are related, and she did get on the National Registry.
@Moon-howler
But the point is that it is a restriction on government.
In my opinion, the reason it is not supposed to be covering private matters is because sometimes the exercise of a right by one can adversely affect the right of another.
For example, the exercise of free speech (Westboro) can also trample the right of others life, liberty, pursuit of happiness (fallen heroes parents, family and friends). First Amendment should not be used to provide a trump card for one party over another party’s rights in a civil matter, which the SCOTUS decision has done.
Why else is there an outrage over the decision?
I was outraged over it. Its just a fire in a crowded theater issue with me. I think they ought to be removed and jailed. I don’t care if its constitutional or not. There are just some behaviors that are so vile and despictable, the constitution should be momentarily put on hold until that person or persons have been dealt with.
but that’s just me…..carry on….
I too am very outraged over it. I can’t equate it to a the fire in a crowded theater analogy. That decision was based upon a governmental interest in crowd and fire safety. It also doesn’t have a public discourse aspect to it.
Sometimes I wish that there was a period of appeal after a Supreme Court decision. In other words, a request for reconsideration.
Sure, someone else could bring some suit to force a re-look but SCOTUS only hears cases it accepts and there is always the pesky “settled law” issue and precedent that could tip the scales against reconsideration.
I sometimes wish we had a slightly different procedures for the Supreme Court that conceded that the court may have erred, especially in major cases, and allow for a reconsideration.
Cemeteries are private property. THEY can keep the idiots out or demand that they leave.