Perhaps police need a legal means to
prevent people from protesting at funerals, but it's unfortunate that
state lawmakers find it necessary to pass a law to prevent every new
example of reprehensible behavior.
A South Carolina Senate subcommittee unanimously approved a bill
recently that would make it a misdemeanor to picket within 1,000 feet of
a funeral service. Senators were motivated by the actions of members of
a Topeka, Kan., Baptist church who have demonstrated around the nation
at funerals for U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq. The protesters claim the
soldiers were killed because God is punishing America for tolerating
homosexuality.
South Carolina now joins 29 other states in considering such
legislation this year. Eight states already have enacted new laws
barring picketing near funeral services.
We agree that these demonstrations are unacceptable behavior. But it
is sad that we, as a society, seem to have no effective means of redress
for such acts other than to pass a new law.
Ideally, the court of public opinion should be enough. Those with the
temerity to interrupt a funeral service with a political message should
be castigated and reviled at every turn. Their neighbors should shun
them, and their message and tactics should be repudiated by civilized
citizens at every opportunity.
We suspect that the funeral demonstrations are simply the outrage of
the week. If they were ignored, they probably would cease. By
introducing legislation to ban these protests, they may be getting far
more attention than they deserve.
We also wonder whether the bans will work as intended. A misdemeanor
fine might not be stiff enough to deter the protests. Worse, it might
encourage the demonstrators to play the role of martyr and go to jail.
If so, the ban could have the effect of giving the protesters even more
publicity.
Nonetheless, we share the outrage of those who seek to put a stop to
these demonstrations. Families deserve the right to grieve in peace
without the intrusion of misguided and, apparently, heartless picketers
with a political ax to grind.
Perhaps police need a legal justification to force the demonstrators
to scram. We wonder, though, what happened to shame, civility and a
sense of self-restraint.
