Jindal Orders Police to Protect Lafayette Victims’ Funerals
Take “swift and immediate action” against Westboro picketers
The insensitive, extremist Westboro Baptist Church has threatened to picket the funerals of the two victims of the Lafayette movie theater shooting. In response, Governor Jindal has ordered police to “take swift and immediate action” against them.
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal is issuing a warning to the Westboro Baptist Church, which has threatened to picket the funerals of two victims from the Lafayette, La., movie theater shooting this week.
Jindal on Saturday told state police to “take swift and immediate action” against anyone who tries to disrupt the funerals of 21-year-old Mayci Breaux or 33-year-old Jillian Johnson.
“In times of grief and mourning, the rule of law is especially important to protect the rights of citizens when they are most vulnerable, and any effort to disrupt or interfere with a family’s ability to grieve following the loss of a loved one is a reprehensible act,” Jindal wrote in an executive order announced late Saturday morning.
“Any action by any individual or group to in any way disrupt, interfere, or cause additional suffering during this time of mourning is unconscionable and morally reprehensible,” Jindal wrote.
Jindal’s order comes one day after the Westboro Baptist Church, widely described as an anti-gay extremist group, announced that it would picket the funerals.
In 2011, the Supreme Court ruled that Westboro has the right to protest at military funerals, and Westboro responded to Jindal’s move on Twitter by decrying it as an attempt to infringe on the distasteful group’s First Amendment rights:
. @BobbyJindal – the “swift and immediate” action to watch is the next shooter God will send you rebels. #CajunDoom https://t.co/9eEcGOqwWH
— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSaysRepent) July 25, 2015
The law to enforce @BobbyJindal is God’s. Put your bloody flag down & mourn for proud sin. #GodSentSouthernShooters https://t.co/9eEcGOqwWH
— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSaysRepent) July 25, 2015
You treat the constitution like a rag, like you do the Bible @BobbyJindal. You bring more wrath from God. #picket https://t.co/9eEcGOqwWH
— Westboro Baptist (@WBCSaysRepent) July 25, 2015
Governor Jindal’s executive order is based in existing law, however, so their howls of outrage are misguided. The Times-Picayune explains:
Gov. Bobby Jindal has issued an executive order aimed at keeping the Westboro Baptist Church protestors away from the funerals of the Lafayette shooting victims.
Jindal said the Louisiana State Police plan to strictly enforce existing state law that prevents protesters from interfering with funerals, burials, wakes and other memorials. The protestors must stay 300 to 500 feet away from funeral proceedings for two hours prior to the event until two hours after it concludes. They are also not allowed to block or interfere a funeral route.
DONATE
Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.
Comments
Where are the moderate Christians?
Condemning the actions and words of Westboro. A self-proclaimed Baptist church with no ties to any Baptist organization. Both the founder and current leader of Westboro are self-ordained.
And Deemocrats, if memory serves.
Where are the moderate Christians? Everywhere but protesting with the Westturds. They are riding bikes to shield mourners. They are policemen keeping the turds behind the barricades. They are the people on this and other boards who constantly revile the turds.
often acting as physical barrier between westboro aholes and their targets.
I’m an atheistic pagan, and I would be proud to stand by those blocking the Westboro loons, no matter if those beside me were Christian or Jew.
Northeast Kansas is a decent place to live, and would be nearly perfect if it wasn’t for the inbred cretins of Westboro (just “Westboro” – the Baptists disassociated themselves from these bigots years ago). The single good thing that can be said about them is that they prove the Bill of Rights still has at least some validity.
The natives of Brandon MS had the right idea about how to deal with the Westboro boneheads. One member blew his mouth off to locals that he was there with a group of people who planned to demonstrate the next day at the funeral of a local boy killed in Afghanistan.
The response was swift. When the boneheads went to their cars the next morning every vehicle in local motel parking lots that had Kansas plates were boxed in by pickup trucks whose drivers had disappeared. When the Westboro members called the county sheriff they were told it would be several hours before the abandoned trucks could be towed. It seems that earlier that morning the available area wreckers had all been sent to a multi-car accident on the other side of the county.
Jindal is making the mistake these cretins from WBC are hoping he makes. He’ll keep the inbreds from appearing at the funeral OK, but then the WBC sues the state for not protecting their civil rights and gets Millions plus attorneys fees, just like they hope. WBC wins.
Keep the government and cops out of it and let the townspeople take care of this little problem, just like they did in Brandon, MS. The bigots won’t sue any individual because the money involved wouldn’t be worth it.
aside: Maybe the IRS should check on their tax free, religous status for validity. Frauds from the gitgo.
Can you cite to a case where Westboro or any of its members have been “awarded Millions”?
Um, no, I can’t. Perhaps I should have just left it at ‘monetary awards’. The family is loaded with attorneys and sues at the drop of a hat when they think their civil rights are violated. That was my point.
I have kind of a peeve about those of us on the right propagating urban myths that are against our interests.
Not to pick on you. It’s too common.
iirc they got 100K from the snyder (scotus) case.
iirc they have had quite a few settlements that probably add up to a lot.
don’t know of any single cases like that though, seems to me they go for court costs recovery as means of living.
I have no idea how well it would work to keep lawyers from talking, but some sort of confidentiality agreement?
At one soldier’s funeral, a motorcycle group of veterans provided escort and blocked the Westboro protestors from view of the mourners.
In the South, we tend to take funerals seriously out of respect for the departed and the bereaved. All the police have to do is escort the procession; the people would take care of the rest.
Westboro is guerrilla street theater. It’s a performance.
They are Democrat anti-Christian zealots playacting as characters; pretending to be what they picture Christians to be.
The media always playing “concerned” and “disgusted” is all part of the show.
I’m sick of this fake nonsense.
I don’t know if they’re actually faking it, but I’m fairly confident that their funding comes from Democrat sources, who are very happy to have them perform. They’re certainly getting money from somewhere, because all their travelling around costs money, and prevents them from working a normal job; and no other source seems at all likely.