Bill could change funeral protesting

Protesting funerals would be harder under a bill unanimously approved Tuesday by an Illinois House committee.

“I think it’s absolutely despicable to any group to protest, especially at a veteran’s funeral,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jerry Costello II, D-Belleville. “The least we can do is respect the dignity of death.”

House Bill 3802 would ban protests for an hour before and an hour after a funeral instead of the current 30 minutes. Loud noises or signs that display “fighting words” could not be shown during this time.

The measure would also increase the distance that protesters must stay away from funerals. Current Illinois law sets the limit at 300 feet. Costello’s bill would increase it to 1,000 feet.

“The way I look at that, 300 feet is roughly the size of a soccer field. You can see from one end of the field to another,” Costello said.

Costello said the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois opposes the proposal on First Amendment grounds.

Costello’s bill makes no distinction between military and civilian funerals, but Ed Yohnka of ACLU of Illinois said the bill is aimed at the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. Members of the tiny congregation periodically picket military funerals on the grounds that the U.S.’s involvement in Mideast wars is punishment for toleration of homosexuality.

“We’re always troubled by efforts to target particular protests and think that that’s problematic,” Yohnka said.

There have been no protests in Illinois in which the 300-foot prohibition was an issue, he said.

In August, Gov. Pat Quinn signed a law that increased the distance protesters must stay away from funerals from 200 to 300 feet. That law originally contained the same provisions that are in Costello’s current bill.

Costello said that measure was the result of a compromise he disagreed with.

Asked if he thought a 1,000-foot limit might be unconstitutional, Costello said, “It may very well be.”

However, he said, “This is something that is very near and dear to my heart. This is something I truly, truly believe in, especially for our veterans.”

Correction: A previous version of this story quoted Rep. Jerry Costello II saying the Service Employees International Union opposed Costello’s proposal to institute tougher regulations on funeral protests. Jerry Morrison, assistant to the SEIU Illinois president, said the organization has never opposed the bill.