W.Va. Legislature approves bill against funeral picketing

Associated Press

CHARLESTON, W.Va.

West Virginia lawmakers have approved legislation that would establish criminal penalties for protesting at funerals despite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding such pickets.

The state Senate passed the measure Saturday after accepting changes made in the House of Delegates earlier in the week. If acting Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin signs the measure, demonstrating at a funeral or memorial service would be a misdemeanor.

The measure responds to numerous anti-gay protests by a Kansas-based fundamentalist group.