Ruppersberger to Introduce Legislation to Prevent Military Funeral Protests

Congressman C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger  will announce Tuesday in Linthicum new legislation to prevent protests during military funerals.

The decision to introduce the proposed “Safe Haven for Heroes Act” comes following the recent Supreme Court decision that offensive anti-gay protests at the funeral of Maryland resident Lance Cpl. Matthew Snyder are protected under the First Amendment.

The Snyder family fell victim to Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which believes that God hates the United States for its tolerance of gay people and frequently uses signs bearing statements such as “Thank God for Dead Soldiers.”

Westboro has picketed nearly 600 military funerals over the past 20 years. Matthew Snyder, 20, died in a vehicle accident while serving in Iraq. Albert Snyder sued the Westboro Baptist Church for protesting at his son's funeral and was initially awarded $5 million in damages. An appellate court later overturned the ruling, which was affirmed by the Supreme Court last week.

“We need to thank God for the service and sacrifice of our American military fighting for our freedom,” Ruppersberger said. “The right to free speech is a valuable liberty that we all cherish as Americans.

"While I respect the recent Supreme Court decision, I wanted to find a way to stop groups like Westboro from using military funerals as occasions to promote their own political agenda and inflict incalculable harm on the grieving families of our troops.”

 Ruppersberger's bill seeks to enable groups like Westboro to exercise their right to free speech without disrupting the funerals themselves or forcing funeral participants to encounter the protesters.

The  Kansas group plans to increase its protests in light of the Supreme Court's ruling, according to the Huffington Post.