KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Kansas City Council has voted to restrict protests at funerals within city limits.
The council on Thursday adopted an ordinance that requires protesters to stay at least 300 feet from a funeral home, cemetery or house of worship during the service and an hour before and after the service.
The Kansas City Star reports (http://bit.ly/SBcURy ) the law is an exact copy of a Manchester, Mo., ordinance that an appeals court ruled last week was constitutional. The court said the ordinance was narrowly written and gave picketers adequate opportunities to express their views in other ways.
Council members say the ordinance was aimed at Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka, which protests at funerals for military members. The group contends the soldiers' deaths are the result of the U.S. tolerating homosexuality.
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Information from: The Kansas City Star, http://www.kcstar.com