LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) - A federal judge has temporarily suspended
Kentucky's law forbidding protests within 300 feet of military
funerals and memorial services.
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.
Earlier this year, the Kentucky General Assembly passed the law
prohibiting nearly all protests at military funerals.
Kentucky Attorney General Greg Stumbo said he was considering an
"I believe that society has an interest in honoring its war
dead. Funerals are times of sacred and solemn reflection which must
be protected from aggressive disruption," Stumbo said in a