According to one California activist, the state's new law that seeks to eliminate distasteful protests at funerals is not a restriction of free speech.
Gov. Jerry Brown (D) has signed a bill similar to one he was "very tempted to sign" last year. SB 661 prohibits demonstrators from protesting a funeral within 300 feet, rather than the 1,000 feet specified in the previous bill, of the site one hour before a funeral starts and an hour after. Beginning in January, violators face fines up to $1,000 and six months in jail.
The Sacramento Bee notes that Brown almost signed a similar bill last year but was worried that the language did not match a 2011 Supreme Court decision. Ted Lieu, the Democratic senator who introduced the first measure, says he made changes to the original bill to address Brown's concerns.
Bill Balderama of the Southern California Patriot Coalition believes SB 661 is legal.
"Governor Brown just wants to, of course, maintain dignity at a funeral, and that's fine by us," he states. "He's not really restricting freedom of speech."
The law was penned in response to the protestors from Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kansas, who picket the funerals of slain soldiers, claiming their deaths are "God's righteous judgment against an evil nation" that supports homosexuality.
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Westboro in 2011, citing protestors' free speech right to picket.