Nebraska Funeral Protest Ban: Supreme Court Won't Hear Appeal

WASHINGTON, DC — A 2006 state law in Nebraska that bans protests near funerals is being left in place by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The law bars protests near a cemetery, mortuary or church from one hour before the beginning of a funeral until two hours after it's end. Members of the famous Westboro Baptist Church in Kansas challenged the law, but lost in lower courts.

Members of the church regularly conduct anti-gay protests outside military funerals to draw attention to their incendiary view that American deaths in Afghanistan and Iraq are God's punishment for the nation's tolerance of homosexuality.

The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not take up the church's challenge.

Photo credit: Bradley C. Bower/Associated Press