Mother of slain soldier is only vote against funeral anti-protest bill
http://minnesota.publicradio.org/display/web/2006/03/16/funeralprotest/
The Minnesota Senate Thursday overwhelmingly passed a bill
making it a crime to disrupt funerals. The bill was prompted
by anti-gay demonstrations at the funeral of a Minnesota soldier
killed in Iraq. Only one senator voted against the bill --
DFLer [Senator] Becky Lourey [Democrat], who is also the only
legislator who has lost a son in the Iraq war.
St. Paul, Minn. — When Lourey's son Matthew was killed in Iraq
last year, no protesters disrupted his funeral. Sen. Lourey says
if they had, she would have endured them. She says her son fought
and died for the freedoms enshrined in the Bill of Rights,
including the freedom of speech.
"We can say whatever we want to say, no matter how ugly,
and we don't get thrown in jail," Lourey said.
Lourey says the speech that disrupted a soldier's funeral
last month was ugly, but it shouldn't be a crime.
At the funeral of Army Cpl. Andrew Kemple in Anoka, a half-dozen
members of a Kansas church shouted anti-gay messages at mourners.
The group from Westburo Baptist Church claims God is killing
American soldiers because the U.S. tolerates homosexuality.
Lourey says the Legislature shouldn't restrict the speech of
the Kansas group or anyone else.
"I've had people standing with signs and ugly words against me
after I've walked through the halls of the Capitol after a vote,
or entered a building, and I have always understood that they
have a right to do that," Lourey said.
The sponsor of the Senate bill, Sen. Don Betzold, DFL-Fridley,
says he respects free speech, but it must be balanced with the
privacy rights of grieving family members.
His bill makes it a misdemeanor to willfully disrupt a funeral.
It differs from the bill that unanimously passed the House
last week, which requires protestors to stay 1,000 feet away
from funerals. The American Civil Liberties Union says the
1,000-foot requirement may be too far to survive a court challenge.
The most passionate support for the Senate bill came from the
two openly gay members of the Senate, DFLer Scott Dibble of
Minneapolis and Republican Paul Koering of Fort Ripley.
Dibble passed out pictures of anti-gay demonstrators in
Minnesota and other states, holding signs that read
"AIDS is God's Curse" and "Death Penalty for Homosexuals."
He says the Kansas group has been picketing the funerals
of gays for years, including the funeral of a University of
Wyoming student who was beaten and left to die because he was gay.
"They showed up when Matthew Shepard was killed with their
ugly signs of protest. They've been showing up for 10 years,
tormenting partners and families of deceased people who've been
lost to HIV and AIDS as well," said Dibble.
At Dibble's request, the Senate unanimously amended the bill
to extend protections to grieving gay families.
Dibble and Koering also pushed to toughen the penalties in
the bill, but the amendment was rejected. Koering argued
that a misdemeanor wasn't harsh enough.
"When you have a group that has on their Web site that says,
'I'd rather have 10,000 Marines killed than just 10,'
something's wrong," said Koering. "So I think it's important
to send a strong message to these people, we're not going to
tolerate this in Minnesota."
Koering's amendment would have made it a gross misdemeanor
the first time someone disrupted a funeral, and a felony
the second time. Betzold argued that would delay the bill's
passage, because it would have to go back to several committees.
Supporters of the legislation are calling for quick passage
to prevent future protests. Betzold said he doesn't expect
any problems resolving the differences between the House and
Senate versions, and Gov. Pawlenty, who attended Kemple's
funeral in Anoka, has said he supports legislation restricting
funeral demonstrations.
The issue has also surfaced at the federal level. Minnesota
Congressman Mark Kennedy and Michigan Congressman
Mike Rogers are proposing legislation to ban protests
during funerals at national cemeteries.
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