Arizona lawmakers advanced a bill that would ban disrupting religious services. The measure would make it a Class 1 misdemeanor to deliberately disturb worship services by creating noise, acting indecently or using profane language.
House Bill 4117 is sponsored by Republican Reps. Teresa Martinez, Rachel Keshel and Michael Way.
Rep. Alma Hernandez, a Tucson Democrat, said the measure is a bipartisan one.
"I think at the end of the day, none of us want to be disturbed when we're at a religious service. And I understand while people have their First Amendment rights, we also have the freedom to exercise our religion," Hernandez said.
Opponents say the First Amendment covers free speech and that existing disorderly conduct laws would cover these kinds of disruptions.
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