California lawmakers are moving forward on a bill protecting churches and other houses of worship as religious services have faced ongoing threats and intimidation across the country.
The bill, Senate Bill 1070, amends Section 302 of the Penal Code, which pertains to disruptions of religious worship services. Under current law, it is a misdemeanor to disrupt a religious meeting. The bill would create a “wobbler” offense for disruptions, which allows prosecutors to charge offenders with either a misdemeanor or a felony.
“Existing law makes a violation of this crime a misdemeanor punishable by a fine not exceeding $1,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for a period not exceeding one year, or by both that fine and imprisonment,” reads a description from the legislative council’s digest. “This bill would additionally make a violation of the above-described crime a felony punishable by a fine not exceeding $5,000, by imprisonment in a county jail for 16 months, or 2 or 3 years, or by both that fine and imprisonment.”
California State Senator Shannon Grove, a Republican, introduced the bill in partnership with The American Council. “With more and more aggressive disruptions targeting religious gatherings across California and nationwide, we must act to safeguard the constitutional rights to free exercise of religion and peaceful assembly,” Grove said. “This bill treats ALL places of worship as the sacred spaces they are by allowing courts to use their discretion to charge perpetrators with a felony for serious or repeated conduct that interrupts worship.”
“Churches are not political rally venues or protest stages. They are sacred spaces where families gather to worship God in peace,” California Family Council Vice President Greg Burt said in a statement. “When agitators intentionally invade or obstruct services, they are not exercising free speech. They are trampling on the religious liberty of others. California must send a clear message that worship services will be protected.”
More than 400 “acts of hostility” against churches were recorded in 2024, according to a 2025 report from the Family Research Council.
While the total number of incidents, 415, is lower than those recorded in 2023 (485), the total is still higher than the number of incidents recorded between 2018 and 2022. The report drew upon open-source data, assessing acts of vandalism, gun-related incidents, and bomb threats. “In 2024, hostile acts against churches were identified in 43 states. As in previous years, states with larger populations tended to have more incidents,” the report noted, detailing that “California had the most, with 40 incidents, followed by Pennsylvania with 29, Florida and New York with 25, Texas with 23, and Tennessee and Ohio with 19.”
