Thursday, September 8, 2011

SD Union- Tribune: Governor vetoes bill limiting protests at military funerals

Brown vetoes bill to limit protests at military funerals

by Michael Gardner
San Diego Union-Tribune 1:33 p.m., Sept. 7, 2011

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday vetoed legislation that would have sharply limited protests at military funerals, delivering a victory to a small but vocal Kansas church that pickets somber goodbyes to fallen soldiers as a way to promote its anti-gay message,

In his veto message, Brown said he was “very tempted” to sign the measure but in “good faith” could not because it conflicts with a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that upheld picketing by the Westboro Baptist Church.

The veto comes just days before the 10th anniversary of 9/11, which the church contends reflected God’s wrath on the U.S. for its sins. Similar protests have been staged at funerals for celebrities, at disaster sites and synagogues.

Brown’s rejection drew a sharp rebuke from Tom Richards, a retired marine and chairman of the San Diego United Veterans Council.

“We understand the right of free speech. We all fought for the right to free speech. But this goes beyond the pale,” Richards said in a phone interview.

Richards said the governor should have signed the bill to force a court challenge. Even if California eventually lost, some families would have been able to hold services in peace, he said.

“It’s a tragic veto,” Richards said.

Sen. Ted Lieu, a Torrance Democrat schooled in the law, said he was confident his measure would have survived a court challenge. Nevertheless, he will work with the governor to introduce a narrower version next year.

Senate Bill 888 would have barred protests between one hour before and one hour after a funeral. Protesters also would have had to stay at least 1,000 feet away from a burial site, church service or mortuary.

Lieu noted the Legislature’s attorney had found the measure to be in line with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. In previous high court decisions, some reasonable restrictions have been permitted.

“Their protests are outrageously offensive and if there were no laws I would use physical force against them,” Lieu said in an interview.

Lieu is a veteran himself, having served four years in the Air Force. At that time he served as a prosecutor in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps. He is now a lieutenant colonel in the reserves.

”This bill would have been the most aggressive nationally,” he said. The new version would have a smaller buffer zone and be tailored to meet the governor’s concerns, he added.

Another veteran, San Diego Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, said the governor should have stood up to the church and challenged the protesters to appeal.

“We should do everything we can to protect military families in their time of grieving,” said Fletcher, a Republican.

Lieu’s measure had sailed out of the Legislature with just one no vote.

The small Baptist congregation, which is mostly made up of relatives of its leader, Fred Phelps, has drawn widespread denouncements for its practices.

Phelps had been sued by Albert Snyder of Maryland after the congregation appeared at the funeral for his son, a Marine lance corporal killed in Iraq in 2006.

The landmark free speech case was settled when the U.S. Supreme Court in early March of this year ruled 8-1 that the church had the 1st Amendment right to picket with signs saying “Thank God for dead soldiers” and others painted with slurs aimed at gays.

The church did not immediately respond to an email requesting comment.

Since, some states have enacted limits on protests at funerals and there are two measures pending in Congress as well.

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