Fitting piece of work for Memorial Day

[Highwayman]

Bush puts a damper on Phelps


Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Monday, May 29, 2006 10:43 a.m. EDT
Bush Bans Protests at Military Funerals

President Bush, marking Memorial Day with a speech paying tribute to fighting men and women lost in war, signed into law Monday a bill that keeps demonstrators from disrupting military funerals.

In advance of his speech and a wreath-laying at America's most hallowed burial ground for military heroes, Bush signed the "Respect for America's Fallen Heroes Act." This was largely in response to the activities of a Kansas church group that has staged protests at military funerals around the country, claiming the deaths symbolized God's anger at U.S. tolerance of homosexuals.

The new law bars protests within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetery and within 150 feet of a road into the cemetery. This restriction applies an hour before until an hour after a funeral. Those violating the act would face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison.

Monday's observance at Arlington National Cemetery was not a funeral, so demonstrators were free to speak their minds at the site.

And several did.

Approximately 10 people from the Washington, D.C., chapter of FreeRepublic.com, a self-styled grass roots conservative group, held signs at the entrance of the cemetery supporting U.S. troops. A large sign held by several people said, "God bless our troops, defenders of freedom, American heroes."

They were faced off against a handful of anti-gay protesters who stood across a four-lane highway as people headed toward the national burial grounds.

The FreeRepublic.com group was trying to counter demonstrations by the Kansas-based group, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps. He previously had organized protests against those who died of AIDS and gay murder victim Matthew Shepard.

In an interview at the time the House passed the bill that Bush signed Monday, Phelps charged that Congress was "blatantly violating" his First Amendment rights. He said that if became law, he would continue to demonstrate but would abide by the law's restrictions.

Bush signed a second bill Monday that allows combat troops to deposit tax-free pay into individual retirement accounts. Supporters of the legislation argued that rules governing these accounts were punishing soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq who earn only tax-free combat pay.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2...459.shtml?s=ic

[Bubba]

Originally Posted by Highwayman

Bush puts a damper on Phelps


Reprinted from NewsMax.com

Monday, May 29, 2006 10:43 a.m. EDT
Bush Bans Protests at Military Funerals....

The new law bars protests within 300 feet of the entrance of a national cemetery and within 150 feet of a road into the cemetery. This restriction applies an hour before until an hour after a funeral. Those violating the act would face up to a $100,000 fine and up to a year in prison....

To bad this will do nothing to stop Phelps, his group already doesn't violate this law. He only holds his protests at the church, he doesn't go to the cemetary.

[Highwayman]

His group gets around. Check out this link;

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/arti...858.shtml?s=lh

[TexKan]

The only way he's gonna be stopped is for the police NOT to intervene next time when someone lunges at him! Our tax $$ is protecting his "right" to have his "view". Suppose we would want the same. At some point and time the barrier to him will faulter and then the rest will be history. Probably will have a hard time finding "witnesses" for the prosecution tho!! LOL Too many will be reavilin in the "loss"

[wordsmythe]

I find it interesting how good right wingers say they are all about smaller government and keeping the government out of our lives until it's something that pisses them off. Then they have a different opinion.

Giving Fred the attention he wants is a foolish choice and this is exactly what he wants. Now he's got the chance to get in front of the U.S.S.C. and get even more recognition. And believe me they already are making plans to contest this one.

I also find it interesting that Fred's people have been picketing funerals for a lot of years and nobody cared to do anything about it before now.

I detest the Fred Heads and what they stand for but the more willing you are to make a law to curtail him the easier it'll be to make one for the next message you don't like or agree with and it only gets easier from there.