AUGUSTA – Legislators will be asked to decide whether Maine will be the latest state to limit demonstrations at funerals.

A number of states have taken action after homophobic demonstrations by the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church. The church preaches that U.S. soldiers are being killed in Iraq because of the nation’s tolerance of homosexuality.

The bill, sponsored by Sen. David Hastings, R-Fryeburg, would make it a crime to demonstrate, leaflet or protest within 1,000 feet of a funeral.

The measure would apply for two hours before and after a funeral, and it would apply to all funerals, not just those of soldiers, Hastings said.

“There will be plenty of time for the politics to play out without intruding into the funeral itself,” Hastings said. “I’m looking at this as human decency that does not unreasonably infringe on anybody’s freedom of speech.”

Last March, the church threatened to demonstrate at the funeral of Army Sgt. Corey Dan, 22, of Norway, but church members never showed up. A month later, church members vowed to protest at the service in Patten for Army Spc. Dustin Harris, 21, but again they were a no-show.

Dan’s grandmother, Sharon Bouchard, supports the bill she said the threat of a protest during her grandson’s funeral was very trying for her family. Bouchard said they worried equally about the Westboro protestors and those who were threatening to confront the protestors if they showed up. “We just didn’t want that, it was not going to add any dignity to Corey’s funeral,” Bouchard said. Bouchard said she’s a strong believer in the 1st Amendment and the right to free speech it protects. She thinks Hastings’ bill strikes the appropriate balance as it allows for protests but, also, offers grieving families some protection. “It’s a delicate balance between free speech and the right of a family to have some dignity,” Bouchard said.

“You can balance dignity and free speech by simply stepping back.”

But the church has held high-profile demonstrations elsewhere.

The group, led by the Rev. Fred Phelps, has demonstrated at the funerals of military personnel with signs reading “Thank God for IEDs” and “Your Sons Are in Hell.”

Church spokeswoman Shirley Phelps-Roper said such laws don’t stop members from demonstrating. Participants don’t stand that close to funerals and the time restrictions don’t matter as long as they abide by the distance limitations, she said.

“What does this do besides demonstrate that a doomed America is ready to give away its First Amendment rights?” Phelps-Roper said.

Many of the laws in other states, like the proposal in Maine, treat funeral protests as a form of disorderly conduct, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

But, the bill does have the support of the Maine State Police. Maj. Tim Doyle said it would create a buffer zone between mourners and demonstrators and delineate for law enforcement where protesters could be.

“We see that as balancing a person’s constitutional right to protest, or free speech, with the right of a person to bury a loved one in peace,” he said.

But the laws have been challenged in several states based on First Amendment issues. “Speech that is cruel and upsetting is still protected by the First Amendment,” said Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union.

The Criminal Justice and Public Safety Committee will hold a public hearing on Hastings’ bill Monday.