The Westboro Baptist Church likes to make a spectacle of itself, picketing military funerals to draw attention to its retrograde views on homosexuality.
But new restrictions on protest signed into law by President Barack Obama yesterday are not the answer to marginalizing these people.
The new law, “Honoring America’s Veterans and Caring for Camp Lejeune Families Act of 2012,” provides “a wide-ranging package of benefits to military personnel and enacting new restrictions on protests of service member funerals.” According to The Huffington Post
Under the new legislation, protests must be held at least 300 feet from military funerals and are prohibited two hours before or after a service. The law counters a 2011 Supreme Court ruling, which found that displays such as Westboro’s were protected under the First Amendment.
So, while the intent seems benign, the means used have dangerous implications for other protesters in other situations. The right way to push back against the Westboro church and other hate groups is to engage in counter demonstrations like two that
drew national attention last month, when large groups of people turned out in both Missouri and in Texas in an attempt to create “human walls” to shield attendees of military funerals from Westboro’s demonstrations.
The best way to combat noxious speech, as we know, is with more speech.
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Hank Kalet 