World

Controversial church won't picket Tucson funeral

A Kansas church has decided to not protest at the funeral of a nine-year-old girl killed in a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz., in exchange for airtime on radio stations in Toronto and Phoenix.

A Kansas church has decided to not protest at the funeral of a nine-year-old girl killed in a shooting rampage in Tucson, Ariz.

Shirley Phelps-Roper of the Westboro Baptist Church in Topeka says church members will skip Thursday's funeral of Christina Taylor Green in Tucson.

Phelps-Roper says the church decided against the picket in exchange for airtime with 102.1 The Edge in Toronto and an interview with KXXT-AM in Phoenix, Ariz., on Saturday.

Phelps-Roper says the group will picket the Friday funeral of U.S. District Judge John Roll and at the intersection where Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and others were shot.

The Arizona legislature unanimously passed a measure Tuesday banning protests at or near funeral sites.

The Topeka Capital-Journal first reported the church's decision to skip the girl's funeral.