OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) - The state Senate on Friday passed a measure to restrict demonstrations at funeral services - a move made largely in response to protests at funerals for soldiers killed in Iraq.
It was the first bill passed by both chambers this session. The Senate vote was 42-1, with six senators excused.
The lone no vote was Sen. Adam Kline, D-Seattle, who said that while the intent of the measure was worthy, "We're limiting speech all the same."
The measure, which now heads to Gov. Chris Gregoire, sailed through the House on Monday, 89-5, with four representatives excused. Gregoire has five days after she receives the bill to sign or veto it. She is expected to sign it, said her legislative director, Marty Brown.
If Gregoire signs the bill, Washington would become the 30th state with a law limiting protests at funerals, said Heather Morton of the National Conference of State Legislatures. Measures are pending in nine other states, Morton said.
The measure, sponsored by Rep. Dan Roach, R-Bonney Lake, would require protesters to remain 500 feet or more from funeral processions, the grave site and the funeral home or building where a funeral service is taking place.
"Passage of this bill sends a message to protesters that they are not welcome to conduct this heinous act in the faces of families mourning at funerals," Roach said in a news release.
Roach's mother, Sen. Pam Roach, R-Auburn, said she appreciated that it was the first bill passed this session.
"I think this is the respectful thing we want to do for anyone who's involved in a funeral," she said.
Violators could be charged with disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor carrying a maximum penalty of a $1,000 fine and 90 days in jail.
Members from the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, Kan., have gained notoriety by demonstrating at military funerals across the county, including Washington state, claiming God is killing troops in Iraq to punish the U.S. for its tolerance of homosexuality.
Kline called that message "repugnant", but said "it's precisely the speech that tears at the fabric of our brotherhoods that we need to be careful about limiting."
Sen. Mike Carrell, R-Lakewood, said the Senate was right to pass the measure.
"There is no absolute right that trumps other rights," Carrell said.
More than 25 states are now considering placing restrictions on demonstrations at or near memorial services.
The bill was a source of contention at the end of last year's Legislature. Republican leaders were enraged when the session ended without a Senate vote on the bill, which had already passed the House.
Senate Majority Leader Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, downplayed Republican objections at the time, saying time had simply run out on the legislative session. Brown and House Speaker Frank Chopp, D-Seattle, had promised the bill would be one of the first voted on this year.
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