On August 16, 2010, the US District Court for the Western District of Missouri ruled that Missouri laws restricting protests near funerals were unconstitutional. Judge Fernando Gaitan held that two 2006 laws banning protests at funerals violated the First Amendment of the US Constitution, concluding that prosecutors had failed to show how restrictions on protests were narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest. The laws in question were passed in response to protests at military funerals by the Westboro Baptist Church, and banned protests within 300 feet of any funeral location and within one hour prior to and one hour after the services. In March 2011, the US Supreme Court ruled in Snyder v. Phelps that protestors at military funerals are protected by the First Amendment.

Learn more about the First Amendment from the JURIST news archive.