A new bipartisan effort seeks to prevent protests outside churches, aiming to create a legal barrier that stops such activity within 100 feet of a house of worship.
Reps. Brad Knott (R-NC) and Tom Souzzi (D-NY) are leading the effort and have introduced the Right to Worship Act. According to the bill, it will be considered unlawful for an individual to “engage in a course of conduct that substantially affects interstate commerce, within 100 feet from any pedestrian or vehicular entryway of any house of worship, during the period beginning 1 hour before the start of and ending 1 hour after the conclusion of a scheduled religious service, by knowingly disrupting the scheduled religious service or knowingly impeding people from participating at the scheduled religious service.”
It is further unlawful for an individual to “conspire to engage in, or cause another person to engage in” such conduct.
Knott said in a statement accompanying the bill that “many Americans are unable to worship without fear of harassment, assault, or other forms of intimidation. The right to worship freely is foundational to our nation and was one of the motivations for its founding. No American should ever feel that their choice is between worshiping in fear and not worshiping at all.”
Similarly, Souzzi said the right to worship “should not require you to exhibit particular courage as you enter your synagogue, church, mosque, temple, mandir, or gurdwara.”
The legislation is endorsed by the ADL; Agudath Israel of America; American Jewish Committee (AJC); BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha; Coalition of Hindus of North America (CoHNA); Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America; Hindu American Foundation; Islamic Society of North America (ISNA); Jewish Federations of North America; UJA-Federation of New York; Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America (Orthodox Union); and the United Sikhs.
Earlier this year, California lawmakers pushed a similar bill to protect churches and other houses of worship in the wake of ongoing threats and intimidation. 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.
