Senate advances bill to protect Oklahoma religious services from protests

OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Senate on March 27 advanced a bill that could imprison protesters who interrupt a religious service.

Critics said the prohibition, which extends to one mile of the religious service, violates free speech rights.

Senate Bill 743 makes it a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500 and or one year in prison to willfully disturb a worship service within one mile of a church.

A second offense would be a felony and carry a fine of $1,000 and or two years in prison.

It would apply to those who protest or demonstrate without a license by the proper authority.

Sen. Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, said the protest would have to be directed at the worship facility. He is the author of Senate Bill 743.

The nation’s Founding Fathers and Pilgrims crossed oceans to get here so they could worship without prosecution and do so in peace and tranquility, Gollihare said.

He said the measure strengthens existing law.

Sen. Mark Mann, D-Oklahoma City, said the bill seeks to stop disruptive, threatening behavior around houses of worship. It does not apply to peaceful protests, he said.

But Sen. Dusty Deevers, R-Elgin, said he’s  concerned that it would impact those protesting or sharing the Gospel outside Planned Parenthood clinics located within a mile of a church.

Deevers said he remembered when the Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church tried to picket at his church.

“We asked them to move to a public easement and would not suppress their First Amendment rights,” Deevers said.

The Westboro Baptist Church, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, has held controversial protests across the country, including at the funerals of deceased military personnel.

Deevers said the bill is a violation of the First Amendment right to free speech.

Sen. Shane Jett, R-Shawnee, said the bill gives the government a tool to erode or diminish the right to free speech, to assemble and to protest.

“I don’t like anyone disrupting a church, a mosque or a synagogue for any reason,” Jett said. “It is inappropriate. I may not like what people have to say, but they have a right to say what they want.”

The bill passed by a vote of 43-4 and is available for consideration in the House.

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