Another fallen Oklahoma soldier will be buried soon in the Oklahoma Panhandle. And once again, Fred Phelps and his germs will make the trek down to the city of Guymon, Oklahoma to wave their banners of hate at the family of Joshua Pierce, who paid the ultimate price in Iraq.

This time, Phelps and his bacteria are likely to get arrested under a new Oklahoma law that forbids protests at funerals. Many other states are working on enacting such laws.

The problem I have is, while it makes me feel absolutely filthy to say this, Fred Phelps is right when he says such laws are unConstitutional. The First Amendment does not give you the right to free speech, it PROTECTS it, by limiting the restrictions the government may make on your speech. It is made applicable to ALL states by virtue of the Fourteenth Amendment.

As much as we may want to shut the door to the Fred Phelps of the world, to lock them out of sight, the simple fact is, we must recognize our duty to the Constitution. If we are to honor this fallen soldier, it is in our best interests to honor the Constitution he died to protect, and not to enact laws that most of us would agree with in principle.

There are simple remedies for Fred Phelps' brand of activism. Have the funeral on private property, and it is acceptable to charge these cretins with trespassing. Bring out local National Guard units, volunteer firefighters, and/or law enforcement officers to form a barricade to protect the family from the "protestors". Keep the funeral details private and accessible only to close family and friends. But to usurp the Constitution because of this speech, no matter how offensive, is to dishonor the Constitution the soldier died for and equally dishonor the flag that will drape the soldier's coffin.