Westboro hate group admits they don't have to be at military funerals

“They can make [the ban distance] 100 miles, and it changes exactly nothing,” said Margie Phelps, a lawyer and the daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps.”

So it looks like she admitted they don't have to be there at all since she said it changes nothing to be a hundred miles away. So why exactly are they demanding the "right" to be there at all? If it doesn't matter how far away they have to be, then, keep them away. After all, we're talking about stalking families trying to do the hardest thing they have to do, bury one of their own. Westboro does not protest every single military funeral, which means they pick the people they will go after and they stalk them, following them to them to the cemetery, uninvited and unwelcome. Free speech is what they claim they need to have, which no one is trying to stop them from saying what they want but they are trying to prevent them from being able to say it to a captive audience. Free speech is a wonderful thing but it isn't free is people are forced to hear what others want to say.

Ill. expands no-protest zone at funerals
By Jim Suhr - The Associated Press
Posted : Sunday Aug 14, 2011 7:58:26 EDT
ST. LOUIS — Members of an anti-gay fundamentalist group known for their protests of military funerals will have to stay a bit farther away from such services under a measure Gov. Pat Quinn signed into law Sunday as the Illinois State Fair observed its Veterans Day.

In contrast with the shouting members of the Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church who often engage in outside funerals, Quinn quietly signed off on the “Let Them Rest In Peace Act,” which pushes protestors back another 100 feet to 300 feet — the equivalent of a football field’s length — at military funerals. Protests remain banned 30 minutes before and after funeral services.

A Westboro member labeled the new law as unconstitutional and said the church would continue its protests as it fights the laws in court.

“They can make [the ban distance] 100 miles, and it changes exactly nothing,” said Margie Phelps, a lawyer and the daughter of Westboro pastor Fred Phelps. “You all are delusional if you think you’re going to win this one.”

“Every family has a fundamental right to conduct a funeral with reverence and dignity,” said Quinn, who as the state’s lieutenant governor in 2006 stumped for the previous version of the law, which set the protest boundary at 200 feet away.

The new law “ensures that the families of those who have given their lives for our country can grieve without harassment. It is our duty to honor their sacrifice by ensuring they are remembered with respect and solemnity,” Quinn said.
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