U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi of Long Island announced a bipartisan bill Friday, April 24, to establish buffer zones around houses of worship, drawing praise from an array of religious organizations but concern from civil liberties groups.

The Safeguarding Access to Congregations and Religious Establishments from Disruption Act would make it a federal crime to obstruct, harass, or intimidate congregants within 100 feet of places of worship or to come within eight feet of a worshipper with the intent to harass.

“No one deserves to be harassed or intimidated, especially on their way to their place of worship,” said Suozzi.

The bill comes in response to several high-profile pro-Palestinian protests of events at synagogues, including two that the Anti-Defamation League’s CEO Jonathan Greenblatt cited as cause for the bill — one in Los Angeles, which hosted a speaker from an Israeli defense technology firm, and one in New York City featuring an information session on how Jewish Americans could move to Israel.

Buffer zone bills have passed across the country, including one that took effect this year in Nassau County. Gov. Kathy Hochul announced plans to pass a similar statewide law.

Suozzi emphasized that the bill would ensure the right to worship for people of all faiths.

“It’s about synagogues. It’s about churches. It’s about gurdwaras. It’s about mandirs. It’s about mosques. It’s about everybody,” he said.

The SACRED Act has been endorsed by 11 organizations including the Anti-Defamation League, the American Jewish Committee, the Islamic Society of North America, the Hindu American Foundation, and United Sikhs, but the bill is not without its opponents.

Executive Director Donna Lieberman of the New York Civil Liberties Union, which is currently suing Nassau County over its buffer zone law, said NYCLU is opposed to the bill.

“These proposals could seriously impair New Yorkers’ ability to exercise their First Amendment rights and send the absolutely wrong message,” Lieberman said. “At a moment when the federal government is targeting, arresting, and even killing people who protest, lawmakers must stand up for New York values and defend the First Amendment — not jump on the bandwagon for a kinder, gentler version of the Trump administration’s authoritarian campaign against dissent.”

Source: LI Press