MISSOURI
KFVS
[with video]
Written by Kadee Brosseau
CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) –
It’s a law put in place mainly to prevent groups like Westboro Baptist Church from protesting at things like military funerals, but now the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri has challenged the ruling and won, calling the law unconstitutional.
ST. LOUIS (AP) – The U.S. Court of Appeals has ruled that the House of Worship Protection Act, which bans anyone for intentionally disturbing the order or solemnity of a house of worship through profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior, is a violation of the First Amendment.
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (http://bit.ly/1B05GJc ) reports that the Missouri court ruled Monday against the state law after the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri filed a lawsuit challenging the law in 2012.
The law put in place in 2012 stopped protests those of the Westboro Baptist Church at military funerals these from happening around churches. It was a move Brother David Migliorino, principal at Notre Dame High School, said helped ensure respect inside and outside a church.
“There is a time and a place to protest and disrupting someone’s worship service is not the time or the place,” Migliorino said.
However, the measure didn’t only stop Westboro. The law banned anyone from intentionally disturbing the order or solemnity of a house of worship through profane discourse, rude or indecent behavior.
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