There ought to be a law. That seems to be the refrain any time someone sets off a trend of callousness or indecency in this country. So it goes in the case of the Rev. Fred Phelps, now infamous for leading demonstrations at U.S. military funerals in which he makes the claim that troop deaths in Iraq are punishment from God for America's tolerance of homosexuality.
Last week the House approved a bill to limit such protests. It stipulated that unapproved protests would be banned at federal burial grounds such as Arlington National Cemetery and established a no-protest perimeter of 500 feet around military cemeteries from one hour before to one hour after a funeral. Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., introduced companion legislation to the Senate floor Friday.
America has lost many sons and daughters in Iraq, and their families face enough trauma laying them to rest without having to deal with Phelps and his bigoted ilk. But legislation of this sort is a somewhat innocuous in-road to a far more dangerous practice.
Slippery slope arguments are tricky to assess, but with the corrupting nature of power and the ascendancy of speech rights in American society, being suspicious of such bills is no radical position. Passing this law today doesn't mean the government will bring back the Sedition Acts tomorrow. However, feel-good proposals can lull people into adopting a permissive attitude toward their rights ' specifically that of free speech ' in the long term.
Additionally, passing this bill only stands to empower Phelps and others. One need only look at the example of two other men of the cloth, the Rev. Pat Robertson and the Rev. Jerry Falwell. Every so often, one of them goes on television to make some ridiculous connection between terrorism and pagans or hurricanes and homosexuality; then comes the inevitable flare-up in the media with lots of complaints and threats directed at both of them. When the furor has died down for awhile, one of them will spew some other nonsense ' people only pay much attention to them when they say ridiculous things. As with your standard class clown, reacting only encourages them.
Phelps is scum, no doubt about it. But in a way, wingnuts like him keep the rest of us honest. First, they show us that government can no more legislate reverence for the fallen than it can respect for one's elders. But more importantly, they ensure the Bill of Rights never becomes mere words on a page.
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Funeral protest bill foreboding
