OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - Trial has begun in a lawsuit challenging a Nebraska law that limits picketing at funerals.
The case stems from a 2009 lawsuit filed by members of Topeka, Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church that challenged Nebraska's funeral picketing law. The original 2006 law required protesters to stand 300 feet away from a funeral service, but it has since been amended to keep protesters at least 500 feet away.
The church protests at funerals around the country contending that U.S. soldiers and others are being struck down by God for defending a nation that tolerates homosexuality.
On Tuesday, a member of the church testified that Westboro members are often kept much further away from Nebraska funerals than the law's 500 feet, while counter protesters are allowed as close to funerals as they want.
© Associated Press
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