Stop the ACLU and Patriotic Mom post about protestors disrupting the funerals of Iraq War vets, and the extremes that their families have been driven to just to bury their loved ones with dignity.

In fact, five states in the Midwest may enact funeral protest bans, all because of a twisted minister and his mindless flock. Reverend Fred Phelps and members of his congregation from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas have been showing up at military funerals to proclaim what they consider God's judgement on a country that tolerates immorality.

Though the soldiers were not gay, the protesters say the deaths, as well as Hurricane Katrina, recent mining disasters and other tragedies are God's signs of displeasure. They also protested at the memorial service for the 12 West Virginia miners who died in the Sago Mine.

Shirley Phelps-Roper, Phelps's daughter and an attorney for the church, said if legislation passes, the group will challenge it in court. "Whatever they do would be unconstitutional," she said. "These aren't private funerals; these are patriotic pep rallies. Our goal is to call America an abomination, to help the nation connect the dots. You turn this nation over to the fags and our soldiers come home in body bags."

Unfortunately, that's not obvious to the ACLU.

Ed Yohnka, communications director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois, said the bills are troubling from a free speech perspective. "We have some concerns about the vagueness of the language," Yohnka said about the proposed Illinois bill. ". . . One of the things that concerns us very much is the degree to which the bill blocks access to people engaged in political expression on public sidewalks. We think a 300-foot bubble is excessive."

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