Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed a bill to create a "funeral protection zone" to keep protesters from disrupting the funerals of those killed in the mass shooting near Tucson.
The bill was a bipartisan show of support for the victims, and it passed both chambers of the Legislature on a unanimous vote earlier in the day.
Senate Bill 1101 creates a "funeral protection zone" that bans protesters within 300 feet of a funeral service. The ban applies to one hour before, during or after a funeral service. A violation is a Class 1 misdemeanor.
The bill has an emergency clause, which required a three-fourths vote of the Legislature but allows the law to go into effect immediately."This bill passed unanimously out of both houses of the Arizona Legislature and represents a truly bipartisan effort to assure that grieving families and friends will be free from harassment and intimidation at the funerals of their loved ones," Brewer said in a statement.
Brewer also said that last year, she instructed the state Attorney General to join 46 other states in a brief at the U.S. Supreme Court filed in support of the right of grieving families to seek a civil remedy against those that choose to protest and disrupt the funerals of their loved ones.
"Such despicable acts of emotional terrorism will not be tolerated in the State of Arizona," her statement said.
The Rev. Fred Phelps of Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas responded to the shooting by posting a video on the YouTube website, saying, "Thank God for the violent shooter."
He vowed to have his band of followers picket at the funerals.
In the Senate debate, Sen. Ron Gould, R-Lake Havasu City, said he would vote for the funeral bill, but he was conflicted because "even idiots have a right to free speech."
House Speaker Kirk Adams said the bill doesn't trample on anyone's First Amendment rights.
"Anybody has a right to say what they want to say in this country" Adams, R-Mesa, said after the bill passed the House on a 58-0 vote. "But we have a right to regulate the time and place (of such speech)."
The bill is patterned after an Ohio law that establishes a 300-foot protection zone around a funeral location from one hour before the event until one hour after it. The Ohio law was recently upheld by the Sixth U.S. Court of Appeals, which made Arizona lawmakers confident their proposal is constitutional.
Senate President Russell Pearce, R-Mesa, made similar comments.
"This is a balance of rights," he said. "Your rights end where mine begin."
Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Phoenix, a bill sponsor, thanked the Senate for its bipartisan support, saying "tragedy is not partisan."
"We have to do what's right," she said. "I feel like we're doing something to help Tucson. Families need to grieve in peace."
The bill passed the Legislature in record time: One day from start to finish. It was a highly unusual move, brought on by the urgency of the Tucson situation. Funeral services begin Thursday.
The bill has an emergency clause, which required a ¾ vote of the Legislature but allows the law to go into effect immediately once Brewer signs the bill.
In addition, the Republican and Democratic parties in Pima County are urging people to help form a human barricade along the funeral routes to protect the victims' families from Phelps and his small band of vocal protesters.
Members of Phelps' controversial Westboro Baptist Church picket funerals to draw attention to the church's anti-homosexual views. Members last month picketed the funeral of Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former presidential candidate John Edwards.
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