BATON ROUGE, La. — A Louisiana Senate committee advanced two bills Tuesday that would impose criminal penalties for disruptive protests at or near houses of worship, drawing criticism from free speech advocates who argue the measures may violate constitutional protections.
The Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 35 by Sen. Bill Wheat (R-Ponchatoula) and Senate Bill 306 by Sen. Rick Edmonds (R-Central), sending both proposals to the full Senate. The legislation follows a January protest at a Minneapolis church where an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer serves as pastor.
Lawmakers backing the proposals say the bills are intended to protect the right to worship without interference. Wheat told the committee that the legislation is not designed to infringe on First Amendment rights but to prevent protests from disrupting religious services.
Edmonds’ bill outlines specific violations, including the use or threat of force to interfere with worship, damaging church property, blocking access to church facilities, refusing to leave when asked by clergy, or financially supporting such activities.
Civil liberties groups say existing laws already address many of those behaviors. The ACLU of Louisiana argued the bills are overly broad and could potentially criminalize constitutionally protected protests.
Separate proposals in the Louisiana House would expand the state’s disturbing-the-peace law to cover disruptive demonstrations at churches.
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