ACLU Files Suit

The American Civil Liberties Union says Michigan's 2006 law restricting protests at funerals is unconstitutional. The ACLU filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of a 64-year-old Army veteran and his late wife. They were arrested in 2007 in Harrison north of Mount Pleasant while driving in a funeral procession of a friend who was killed in Iraq. They displayed signs in their van that were critical of President Bush. The state law was passed to stop demonstrations by the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, which has protested at funerals of U.S.soldiers. A legislator who helped write the law says what happened in Harrison is very unique. Senator Jud Gilbert says grieving families deserve protections at funerals.