Legislation protecting families of fallen soldiers deserves the opportunity for a vote

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                   March 27, 2006

Springfield, IL -- State Senator Chris Lauzen (R- Aurora) and several other House and Senate Republicans are pushing to protect the families of fallen soldiers.

Senator Lauzen is a Chief Co-sponsor of House Bill 4532, backed by Lt. Governor Pat Quinn,  which would establish the "Let Them Rest in Peace Act" to prohibit loud and inflammatory protests within 200 feet of all Illinois funeral services beginning 30 minutes before a funeral, during a funeral, and 30 minutes after the funeral.

The bill passed the House of Representatives on a 114-2 vote on March 2, but since then, has been bottled up in the Senate Rules Committee -- a holding spot for bills that often never see a vote-- by the Democrat Leadership, and is not being released for full consideration in the Senate.

"We shouldn't be playing politics with such an important issue," Lauzen said while addressing the media at a Capitol press conference Monday, March 27. "This bill should be released to the full Senate for individual members to decided on a "yes" or "no". I think it's shameful we have to have a press conference in order to get this important bill before the Senate for a vote."

"For some inexplicable reason, this important measure is not being allowed to progress, despite its overwhelming support from the Illinois House,"said State Senator Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), who filed a motion Friday to discharge the bill that would place restrictions on protests at military funeral services in Illinois.

Lauzen, joined by State Senators John Jones (R-Mt. Vernon), Dale Risinger (R-Peoria), Dale Righter (R-Mattoon), Dave Syverson (R-Rockford), Larry Bomke (R-Springfield),  Dave Luechtefeld (R-Okawville) and State Representative Don Moffitt (R-Gilson) --all sponsors of the measure --used the press conference to shine a spotlight on the issue, and call on the Senate Democrat leadership to move the legislation forward.

Also in attendance was Reverend Peter Wehrly, father of fallen soldier Sgt. 1^st Class Kyle Wehrly, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Ashraf, Iraq last November.

The measure was inspired by actions taken by members of the Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., a fundamentalist group who recently became known for picketing the burials of soldiers and Marines killed in Afghanistan and Iraq. Members showed up at Sgt. Wehrly's funeral service in Galesburg with signs that read "Thank God for dead soldiers." Moffitt, who represents the Galesburg area, said that fortunately word got out that the anti-gay hate group--previously known for protesting the funerals of AIDS victims--was coming to town. Residents responded by standing silently in front of the protesters, blocking the group and their signs from the view of those attending Wehrly's funeral.

"Because of the lack of any law or legal protections for the Wehrly family, students from Knox College came and provided a human barrier between the protestors and the grieving family. Knox College has never been viewed or considered a bastion of right-wing political thought or conspiracy, and yet Knox College students came and helped protect the privacy, the dignity and the respect that the Wehrly family deserved at their time of loss," said Moffitt, who recently introduced a resolution to name Galesburg's new Illinois Army National Guard Readiness Center after Sgt. Wehrly. "All of us expect our rights of free speech to be protected, yet in the Illinois State Capitol, citizens who approach their elected officials can't just yell or protest in the Chambers, or get in the face of legislators. It must be done in a proper, dignified and respectful manner. We should provide just as many precautions and safeguards for a fallen soldier and the grieving family."

Jones added, "The last thing families need is for a few callous individuals to use their tragic loss to make a political statement. These brave young men and women who have given up their lives in the defense of freedom deserve some dignity and respect. When people are rude and classless at a baseball game, they get tossed. When students are rude in the classroom, they are sent to the principal's office. When employees are loud and obnoxious at the workplace, they often get fired. So why should we tolerate this kind of rudeness and insensitivity at the funerals of American servicemen and women? We shouldn't -- that is what this legislation is all about."

Risinger, whose Senate district also encompasses the Galesburg area, said the heinous message of the members of the Westborough Church was proclaimed under the guise of Free Speech, a Constitutional right that soldiers are sacrificing their lives to protect.

"We're not proposing to silence the Westboro Baptist Church, as offensive as their message may be," said Risinger. "Rather, we are trying to achieve a balance that honors the religious right of families to bury their loved ones-- a right that is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution -- as well as the protestors' right to exercise free speech and expression. I believe that by only allowing certain actions to occur within certain parameters, we achieve this delicate balance."

"Just as appropriate limits are set on free speech to prevent someone from yelling 'fire' in a movie theater, there needs to be safeguards in place to prevent the desecration of a soldier's funeral just to advance a political agenda," commented Lauzen, who was convinced to sponsor the measure after learning that protestors threatened to picket the funeral of Lance Cpl. Adam Wade Kaiser, 19, of Naperville. Kaiser was one of 10 Marines killed in a blast in Fallujah, considered one of the deadliest attacks on American troops in Iraq in the past four months.

According to Syverson, members of the Westboro Baptist Church also threatened to protest the funeral of Byron resident Lance Cpl. Andrew Patten, 19, also killed in Fallujah. Fortunately after

friends and family took proactive measures to protect the funeral service from invasion, the members chose not to publicly protest outside the funeral service.

Similar legislation is being considered in at least 14 states including Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Some of the bills specify noisy, disruptive behavior or signs with "fighting words," as in Wisconsin. Some bar protests within one or two hours before or after a funeral starts; others specify distances ranging from 10 car lengths to five blocks away; some include both.

"Clearly, there is a need for this kind of legislation," Righter concluded. "We only ask that this important measure be allowed further exploration, before it is, in effect, silenced."

If the motion to discharge the bill is granted, House Bill 4532 will move directly to the Senate floor for further consideration.

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