JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Missouri House has advanced legislation designed to clear up possible legal confusion about the state’s funeral protest law.
Current law requires protesters to stay 300 feet away from funeral sites, from an hour before they start until an hour after the services end. But a federal appeals court ruled the buffer zone could not apply to funeral processions.
The bill given first-round approval Tuesday specifies that processions are not included in the protest ban.
The appeals court sent the case to another federal judge who upheld the rest of Missouri’s law last month. Sponsoring Rep. Stanley Cox says his bill would prevent future legal complications.
The legal challenge was brought by a member of a Kansas church that denounces homosexuality and frequently protests at funerals.
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Funeral protests is HB1372
Online:
Legislature: https://www.moga.mo.gov
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