Kansas A.G. defends state’s law

? Attorney General Steve Six issued the following statement on Monday following an opinion by a federal judge in Missouri ruling that state’s ban unconstitutional.

“Kansans can be confident that if the Phelps family attempts to use this ruling in Missouri as a way to attack our law I will vigorously defend our right to protect Kansas families.  I have no doubt that Kansas’ law is constitutional.

“When I became Attorney General, one of my first actions was to work with the Governor and the Legislature to craft a ban on funeral protests that was constitutional. When Kansans are in mourning at a funeral, their right to grieve must be protected. The Constitution does not protect those who attempt to hijack solemn proceedings in order to spread hateful ideas.

“Today’s ruling in Missouri emphasizes why I filed a brief in the Supreme Court arguing in support of funeral picketing laws across the nation, and why I was joined in that brief by 48 other Attorneys General.”

In 2008, the Kansas Supreme Court declared a funeral picketing ban passed in 2007 to be unconstitutional because of defective language inserted into the bill. An updated bill was passed in 2008.

The case before the Supreme Court is Snyder v Phelps. Oral arguments in that case are scheduled for Oct. 6.