New law limits protests at funerals

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama now has a law limiting protests at funerals.
    
Gov. Robert Bentley signed a bill on Wednesday mandating that demonstrators stay at least 1,000 feet away from funerals. That's the equivalent of about two blocks.
    
Lawmakers passed the legislation unanimously during the session earlier this year.
    
The law is in response to disruptions by the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church, which travels the nation staging demonstrations at funerals for U.S. troops and others. Members claim God kills Americans because the nation tolerates homosexuality.
    
Church members have protested at several funerals in Alabama, including those for U.S. troops, a slain Auburn University student and a victim of a school bus crash in Huntsville.
    
House Speaker Mike Hubbard says it's a shame such a law is needed.