Court ruling favors funeral picketers

TOPEKA, Kan., Dec. 6 (UPI) -- A federal appeals court Thursday temporarily blocked Kansas laws restricting pickets at funerals as their constitutionality is reviewed.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit ruled in favor of Shirley Phelps-Roper, who sought to temporarily block enforcement of statutes restricting where members of Topeka, Kan.-based Westboro Baptist Church can picket at funerals is reviewed, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

Westboro Baptist Church members believe God punishes the United States for tolerating homosexuality by killing Americans, including soldiers serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. Members of the church have picketed funerals of soldiers killed in in the two theaters, sometimes prompting confrontations.

Phelps-Roper said Thursday the challenged statutes weren't clear in defining how far from funerals church members can picket, using words like "in front of" and "about." Because of vague language, she said law enforcement officers and other officials could interpret how the statutes should be enforced.

On Aug. 5, Phelps-Roper and other church members protested near a soldier's funeral in St. Joseph, Mo. Responding to the protest, the state enacted statutes that criminalized picketing "in front or about" a funeral location or procession, and within 300 feet of a funeral location or procession.