Funeral Buffer Bill Backed in House Judiciary Committee

The Westboro Baptist Church, and anyone else who for some reason desires to protest a military funeral, would have to stand at least 500 feet away under a bill that received unanimous support Wednesday from the House Judiciary Committee.

HB 31 by Rep. Pat Rooney, R-West Palm Beach, expands on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that allowed a 100-foot distance between military protesters and those involved with a military funeral.

After talking with staff about the constitutional issues, we feel we are in good standing, Rooney said. It basically provides the solemnity and honor due any funeral and it allows the people in that funeral to grieve and remember the loved one without the outside protest.

The bill sets the distance from any residence, cemetery, funeral home or house of worship from one hour before to an hour after any burial or memorial service for a military service member, emergency response worker, elected official, or minor.

We have seen multiple protests of U.S. soldiers' deaths and things that are an embarrassment, said Rep. Darren Soto, R-Orlando. We do have a very broad right to free speech, but I think there is an overwhelming state interest that's overcoming it for this instance.

The bill is aimed at groups such as the Topeka, Kan.-based church, which has held provocative, anti-gay protests at military funerals.

The companion bill, SB 632 by Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, has yet to be voted on by a committee.

Both bills would make violating the distance requirement a misdemeanor.

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court, in an 8-1 majority ruling, declared that the First Amendment protects members of the Westboro Baptist Church.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, stated that the ruling was a narrow decision that dealt strictly with Westbrooks picketing.

In his ruling, Roberts noted that protesters were not in violation of Maryland's 100-foot buffer zone for military funerals.

"Speech is powerful," Roberts wrote. "It can stir people to action, move them to tears of both joy and sorrow, and -- as it did here -- inflict great pain.

"On the facts before us, we cannot react to that pain by punishing the speaker. As a nation, we have chosen a different course -- to protect even hurtful speech on public issues to ensure that we do not stifle public debate," he wrote. "That choice requires that we shield Westboro from tort liability for its picketing in this case."