Court upholds Ohio limits on funeral protests

COLUMBUS (AP) -- A federal judge upheld Friday significant portions of a state law that limits when and where people may protest at funerals, a law aimed at a small fundamentalist Kansas church whose members picket burials of U.S. troops killed in combat, arguing that the deaths are God's punishment for homosexuals.
The 2006 law prohibits protesters from being within 300 feet of a cemetery, funeral home, church or synagogue either one hour before or after a burial service.
The Ohio chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, with a member of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., as a plaintiff, had sought a federal restraining order, saying the state cannot pass a law restricting freedom of speech.
But U.S. District Court Judge Donald Nugent in Cleveland said the law upholds a long tradition in American culture of allowing mourners to pay their respects to the deceased without disruption -- and gives protesters ample alternatives to express their views.
However, Judge Nugent struck down a portion of the law that placed a 300-foot "floating buffer zone" around funeral procession routes, saying it is unconstitutionally broad.
Supporters of the law called the ruling a victory.
"The families and loved ones of our honorable service men and women have earned the right to pay their last respects in peace and security," said Gov. Ted Strickland, a Democrat who took office in January.
Church members planned to picket the funeral of Army Sgt. Robert Carr in Warren on Monday, according to the church's Web site. Carr was killed in Iraq earlier this month when an improvised explosive device detonated beneath the armored vehicle he was driving, his father said.
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