ACLU Sues On Behalf of Westboro Picketers' Use of American Flag In Demonstrations

The ACLU of Iowa announced last month that it has filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of members of the Westboro Baptist Church-- known for its anti-gay picketing of veterans' funerals-- to prevent enforcement against them of Iowa's flag desecration statute (Iowa Code Sec. 718A.1A) that has already been declared unconstitutional.  The complaint (full text) in Phelps v. Red Oak Police Chief Drew Powers, (SD IA, filed 4/18/2013), alleges that police officials in Red Oak and Council Bluffs, Iowa have threatened to enforce the statutes against Westboro picketers who use American flags in their demonstrations. The complaint alleges:

An absence of respect for the United States flag and the elimination of that flag as an idolatrous symbol are core religious tenents of the Westboro Baptist Church, and a part of the religious message that members of that chuch are bound to convey to others in witnessing God's will according to their faith and practice.

In a 2007 case, an Iowa federal district court held that Iowa's flag desecration and misuse statutes were unconstitutionally void for vagueness. However they remain on the books, and Iowa Code Sec. 718A.6 provides that law enforcement officials may be removed from office for failure to enforce them.