Politics & Government

Stern Condemns Ruling on Funeral Protests

Legislator says county law still stands.

Legislator Steve Stern (D-Huntington),  condemned a U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday that allows protests at military funerals to continue.

The Supreme Court ruled 8-1 that the Westboro Baptist Church protesters, who argue that God is punishing the United States for tolerating homosexuality, are protected by the First Amendment.

“Today’s decision by the United States Supreme Court in favor of the Westboro Baptist Church that protects their hateful protests at military funerals is absolutely appalling. This ruling from the Supreme Court that protects funeral protests and sheer hatred is deplorable.

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"While I appreciate the fundamental right to Constitutionally protected speech, the protests by the Westboro Baptist Church are nothing more than 'fighting words,' which are not protected by the First Amendment. I am extremely disappointed in the decision of the Supreme Court today because I would expect our nation’s highest court to strike the balance in favor of personal privacy that would protect the dignity and honor of our fallen heroes. I strongly believe that we can support a society where we have vigorous public debate, but that does not require that we protect a vicious and brutal verbal assault on a private individual in the name of free speech,” Stern said.

Last June, the Suffolk County Legislature unanimously passed legislation that Stern authored to protect military funerals from protests that had arisen across the United States.  County Executive Steve Levy signed the legislation into law in July.

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"I strongly believe that the county law as written would strike the right balance between privacy and Constitutional rights," Stern said.

"When I authored the bill it  was with Constitutional  concerns in mind," Stern said.
"Our law contains reasonable time, space and manner  restrictions that the Supreme Court has upheld in the past."

Stern said the county law covered physical distance and times, including a150-foot restriction from where the service is held and 300 feet at a cemetery.  "The durational requirement is one hour before, during and one hour after" a service, Stern said. "What I would encourage is other municipalities to look at laws similar to ours." He said he was very confident that Suffolk's restrictions would stand.

“I was profoundly disturbed that legislation was even necessary in the first place to protect our fallen heroes but was proud to stand with our military families to ensure our veterans receive the respect they deserve and ensure dignity for all military families in Suffolk County,” he said.


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