Military Families' Right to a Peaceful Funeral

[stoneturtle]

For Immediate Release
Friday, April 16, 2010
Contacts:
Jessica Kershaw, Boccieri, (202) 225-3876
Joe Kasper, Hunter, (202) 225-5672


MILITARY FAMILIES HAVE A RIGHT TO PEACEFUL FUNERALS

Military Members Introduce Resolution in Response to Westboro Baptist Church and
their Protest of Fallen Soldiers Coming Home from Iraq, Afghanistan

Westboro Baptist Church: Thank God for Dead Soldiers

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Congressman John Boccieri (D-OH) along with his fellow military veteran and Republican colleague U.S. Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) today joined together to introduce a resolution reminding the United States Supreme Court that the right to free speech ends where the right to privacy begins. Their resolution upholds current state laws allowing a family who is mourning the loss of their soldier killed in Iraq and Afghanistan to grieve privately.

“The right to free speech ends where the privacy of a family mourning the loss of a service member begins,” said Congressman Boccieri, a C-130 pilot flying missions during Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom. “While our law doesn’t restrict hate groups from spewing their venom, it forces them to do it at a respectful distance from the grieving family. This is personal for me after flying wounded and fallen soldiers out of Baghdad. Not only do we fight for the right to free speech, we fight for the right to privacy as well.”

“Service members who make the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation – as well as their families – deserve our unending respect and appreciation,” said Congressman Hunter, a combat veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. “Those who attempt to discredit their sacrifice by hurling insults and engaging in other offensive behavior bring great shame to themselves. The right to free speech is one of our nation’s most fundamental and protected rights, but it’s unfortunate when certain individuals or groups think it’s appropriate, for the purpose of creating controversy, to publicly malign our fallen heroes and disrupt such an important moment for their families. It’s my hope is that the Supreme Court will move to uphold existing laws that allow these families to mourn the loss of their loved ones without disturbance.”

A copy of the Congressmen’s resolution will be posted as soon as I get it formatted.

[stoneturtle]

111th congress
2d session
H. Con. Res. ___

Expressing the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court should uphold laws that allow the families and friends of fallen members of the Armed Forces to mourn their loved ones in peace and privacy.


IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Mr. BOCCIERI submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on


_______________


CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


Expressing the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court should uphold laws that allow the families and friends of fallen members of the Armed Forces to mourn their loved ones in peace and privacy.

Whereas members of the Armed Forces who are killed in combat, die from wounds incurred in combat, or otherwise die in the line of duty lay down the ultimate sacrifice for the safety of the United States;



Whereas the families and friends of these brave men and women have the right to mourn their loved ones in peace and privacy;

Whereas families at military funerals have been subject to offensive and disruptive shouting and picketing that deprives
them of that right;

Whereas the protestors of Westboro Baptist Church engage in offensive and disruptive demonstrations at military funerals,
holding signs that read, ‘‘Thank God for Dead
Soldiers’’ and ‘‘Soldiers Die God Laughs’’;


Whereas 41 States have enacted laws that protect the peace and privacy of grieving military families by shielding them from protestors at the funerals and memorial services of their loved ones;

Whereas the 109th Congress passed, with overwhelming bipartisan support, the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act (Public Law 109–228), which requires protestors to remain a respectful distance from a funeral or memorial service at a cemetery under the control of the Federal Government;

Whereas the Respect for America’s Fallen Heroes Act reaffirmed the commitment of the United States to honor those who have sacrificed their lives for the safety of the
people of the United States;

Whereas the Supreme Court announced on March 8, 2010, that they will review the case Snyder v. Phelps, No. 09-751, in which the Court will decide whether laws that limit the speech of protestors in order to protect the
peace and privacy of grieving military families may be upheld under the First Amendment to the Constitution;

Whereas the Supreme Court, in National Archives and Records Administration v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157 (2004), declared that ‘‘family members have a personal stake in
honoring and mourning their dead and objecting to un-warranted public exploitation that by intruding upon their own grief, tends to degrade the rites and respect they seek to accord to the deceased person who was once
their own’’;

Whereas the Supreme Court, in Hill v. Colorado, 530 U.S. 703 (2000), ruled that limitations on speech may restrict the time, place, and manner of speech to protect the public from confrontational and harassing conduct;

Whereas a military funeral or memorial service is never the appropriate time or place for protest, and protest at a military funeral or memorial service is never an appropriate manner of exercising free speech:

Now, therefore, be it Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), That it is the sense of Congress that the Supreme Court should uphold laws that allow the families and friends of fallen members of the Armed Forces to mourn their loved ones in peace and privacy.

[stoneturtle]

This came from the Blue Star Mothers of America with a plea that we all support this resolution.

[raimius]

Good!

Those....people decided to protest at one of my friend's memorial service. Apparently, they thought the murder of several college students at Northern Illinois University was something to celebrate.
Christians should be loving and forgiving, but sometimes I have trouble figuring out how we are supposed to do that...

[Seamonkeydo]

Because we can't possibly be perfect...we need the grace of God.