The Missouri legislature has passed a bill to limit Fred Phelps' ability to picket the funerals of dead service members with his "GOD HATES FAGS" and "THANK GOD FOR IEDs" signs.

This is a bad idea.

Fred Phelps is a moron and a coward. Every time I see or hear him, I have the most incredible urge to go home and take a bath. But he's also a lawyer. And so is just about every member of his "church" (which consists entirely of him and his offspring). They know a thing or two about the First Amendment. Every time some city or state attempts to limit their first amendment rights, they sue big time and win. That, I believe, is their primary purpose. They are the first amendment equivalent of the people who like to slip and fall at the grocery store four or five times a year and make a ton of money off of lawsuits.

Missouri passing a law to limit Phelps's speech is almost certainly unconstitutional, and Phelps will make a ton of money on lawsuits to get it overturned--thereby financing more of his "protests" at more funerals.

Missouri, don't feed the trolls. Ignore them. I'd like more than anybody to shut Phelps up for good, but this is not the way to do it. You don't get rid of professional accident victims by outlawing slips and falls.