Ohio officials offer solutions to ensure religious liberty after the Minnesota church incident

After witnessing anti-ICE protesters disrupting a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, several Ohio lawmakers proposed a solution to prevent that from happening in the Buckeye State, while Attorney General Dave Yost reminded people about the Ohio law that was already passed.

State Reps. Tex Fischer, R-Boardman, and Johnathan Newman, R-Troy, recently introduced legislation to ensure Ohioans can freely practice their religion without being disturbed, harassed, or attacked.

The bill, which is awaiting a bill number and House committee assignment, will disincentivize the behavior by increasing the penalty for disturbing religious worship from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony, according to the lawmakers’ press release.

“While every American has the right to peacefully protest ICE or any other government entity, they do not have a right to storm into a place of worship and disrupt another American’s right to freely practice their religion,” Fischer said in a release.

He added that Americans cannot allow their country to be a place where families fear they may face harassment or see their religious services disrupted by activists attempting to score political points while attending church on a Sunday morning.”

“Our state should not tolerate this behavior and must stand strong in protecting the rights of Ohioans of all faiths to freely practice their religion,” he added.

Newman also said he will “do everything possible” to ensure Ohioans can worship, a right protected by the First Amendment.

“I am glad to join Rep. Fischer in sponsoring this important legislation,” he said.

The bill purports not to restrict Ohioans’ ability to peacefully protest.

In an op-ed for National Review, Yost also wrote that “worshippers should be protected,” adding that other states should “consider adopting Ohio’s Sacred Spaces Act” to deal with cases like the recent church service interruption in Minnesota.

“Trespass is an offense against mere property. A worship service is not property, but something of infinitely greater value — a gathering of believers before their Maker, the seeking of ultimate meaning,” he wrote.

Yost added that Ohio law has a statute prohibiting the disruption of a lawful meeting, adding that it is also a “misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of 30 days in jail.”

“States should emulate Ohio and protect their places of worship by state law. If certain jurisdictions have prosecutors unwilling to enforce a criminal law, a legislature can create a private cause of action,” he wrote. “But the First Amendment protections for free exercise of religion against government coercion will mean little if worshippers are subject to organized private coercion in their houses of prayer.”