Washington, Sep 17: US lawmakers made a bipartisan pitch for early passage of a bill that seeks to create a 100-foot protest-free buffer zone around places of worship during religious services.
More than 30 groups, including those representing Hindus, Sikhs and Jews among others, gathered at Capitol Hill on Wednesday to rally support for the draft legislation introduced in the House by Congressmen Tom Suozzi and Brad Knott.
The Right to Worship Act would establish a 100-foot, protest-free buffer zone around houses of worship during religious services, making it unlawful to knowingly disrupt or impede people from attending.
“Exercising your right to worship should not require you to exhibit particular courage as you enter your synagogue, church, mosque, temple, mandir, or gurdwara,” said Suozzi, a Democrat from New York.
“The breadth of support for the Right to Worship Act is very gratifying. So many groups recognise the horrifying reality that the threat to the freedom to worship is not unique to any one faith or congregation. Every religious community feels it, which is why this bill will protect everybody,” Suozzi said.
Knott, a Republican from North Carolina, said the right to worship was under threat, which amounted to a First Amendment violation.
“If people in the United States cannot worship, we do not have a First Amendment. And the right to worship is under attack,” Knott said.
The First Amendment to the US Constitution protects core individual liberties, including freedom of religion, speech, the press, assembly, and petition.
Suozzi’s Right to Worship Act builds on his earlier introduction of the Safeguarding Access to Congregations and Religious Establishments from Disruption (SACRED) Act in April, which also aimed to establish a 100-foot protest-free buffer zone around places of worship.
The Right to Worship Act is a bipartisan and bicameral effort introduced in August.
Representatives from Hindu American Foundation, UNITED SIKHS, American Jewish Committee, BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha, Coalition of Hindus of North America and Jewish Federations of North America were among the organisations supporting the measure.
“In recent years, we have seen a disturbing rise in the harassment of devotees and disruption of services at Hindu mandirs across America, which has deeply shaken the sense of safety for our families and devotees,” said Suhag Shukla, Executive Director at the Hindu American Foundation.
By making it unlawful to intentionally disrupt or harass individuals within 100 feet of a religious establishment and establishing civil penalties, this legislation ensures that our mandirs remain the sacred spaces of peace and community they are meant to be, Shukla said.
“Protecting religious freedom and protecting freedom of expression are not mutually exclusive. Both are essential to a free, diverse, and democratic society. The right to worship freely and the right to express oneself freely go together,” said Gurvinder Singh Gill, International Aid Director of UNITED SIKHS.
Four of our mandirs have been vandalised in recent years, and a family should never have to think twice before walking through the door of a house of worship, said Mukesh Swaroop, Director of Government Relations for BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha.
“This is a much-needed step to help ensure that devotees of every faith can visit their places of worship and pray without fear of being targeted or intimidated for simply exercising their First Amendment rights,” said Hitesh Trivedi, COO of Coalition of Hindus of North America.
