A judge in Kentucy temporarily suspends a Kentucky law which forbids protesting within 300 feet of a military funeral.

U.S. District Judge Karen Caldwell said Tuesday that the law goes too far in limiting free speech. The law aimed at Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., which is known for its anti-gay protests, is too broad, the judge said in issuing an injunction.

“The zone is large enough that it would restrict communications intended for the general public on a matter completely unrelated to the funeral as well as messages targeted at funeral participants,” Caldwell wrote in a 37-page ruling issued in Frankfort.

Response from the smarmy ACLU:

“We think Judge Caldwell reenforced the importance of freedom of expression,” Lutgens said. “We continue to support the commonwealth’s efforts to protect funerals, but we know it’s not necessary to violate the First Amendment to do that.”

I thought this was a great response to the ruling:

State Sen. Tom Buford, R-Nicholasville, one of the sponsors of the law, said the 300-foot barrier is the same buffer zone used to keep people from campaigning at voting precincts during elections.

“It would seem we want to give at least as much reverence to a funeral as we do an election,” Buford said. “It seems like a sad day for our military.”

Kentucky New Era

I can’t wait to find out how many Democrats voted for PERA since the vote was held Tues., Sept. 26th.