Bill would criminalize blocking entry or exit from religious facilities; advocates say it protects congregants without restricting protest
Loading...
Summary
House Bill 750 would make it a misdemeanor to intentionally prevent access to religious facilities when the conduct is not First Amendment‑protected; civil rights and Jewish community groups urged a favorable report, stressing the law mirrors prior medical‑facility protections.
Delegate Rosenberg presented House Bill 750 to add an offense for intentionally preventing an individual from entering or exiting a religious facility; sponsors drew on the existing medical‑facility statute and hate‑crime definitions to shape the language. Supporters, including the Anti‑Defamation League and the Baltimore Jewish Council, said the measure protects congregants and student groups that have reported being physically barred from synagogues, Hillel chapters and other religious sites.
Josh Stevens of ADL and Sarah Mirsky of the Baltimore Jewish Council said the bill would not ban protest or speech but would criminalize physically blocking ingress or egress when that conduct is not protected. "We don't prohibit protesting — it prohibits blocking people from entering and exiting," Stevens told the committee.
Members questioned First Amendment limits and comparisons to the Supreme Court’s Westboro Baptist Church cases; sponsors said existing medical‑facility precedents and carefully drafted exceptions can preserve constitutionally protected demonstrations while penalizing obstruction and threats to safety. The committee did not vote; the sponsor said she relied on language used in the hate‑crime law and prior medical access statutes as a template.
