Free speech: Federal judge strikes down laws restricting protests near funerals
A federal district judge ruled that two 2006 laws regulating protests near funerals violated the First Amendment. -db Kansas City Star Aug. 16, 2010 By Mark Morris Missouri’s laws restricting protests near funerals are unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Monday. The ruling from Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan found that two 2006 laws that sought to regulate such protests violated First Amendment free-speech rights. Shirley Phelps-Roper, daughter of Westboro Baptist Church founder Fred Phelps,