Hearing on bill to ban demonstrations at funerals

The Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony last night on a bill sponsored by Senator Charlie Shields of St. Joseph. The bill bans demonstrations at funerals from an hour before to an hour after the service. The bill was introduced after Topeka, Kansas minister Fred Phelps and his followers demonstrated at the funeral of a St. Joseph soldier killed in Iraq. Phelps claims the death of American soldiers in Iraq is God’s vengeance on this nation because it tolerates homosexuals. Phelps and his group also had demonstrated at a military funeral in East Prairie. The Senate Judiciary Committee has sent the bill to the full senate for action. The Senate could send the bill to the House on Monday.