A push to ban protests near New York houses of worship is drawing growing pushback from civil liberties advocates who say it's an unconstitutional infringement on free speech.
Governor Kathy Hochul in her State of the State address proposed 25-foot buffer zones around synagogues, churches, and mosques where no demonstrations would be allowed. City Council Speaker Julie Menin made a similar proposal as part of a five-point plan to combat antisemitism, saying the Council would take up legislation to create a safe perimeter around both houses of worship and schools—perhaps as large as 100 feet.
But it's not clear if such a crackdown would pass legal muster. The Supreme Court in 2014 unanimously struck down a similar law in Massachusetts, which prohibited protests within 35 feet of abortion clinics. An earlier high court ruling had upheld a 15-foot buffer around abortion clinics, but threw out a "floating" buffer zone requiring protesters to stay 15 feet away from anyone entering the building.
"We're pretty confident it violates the First Amendment," Justin Harrison, senior policy counsel at the New York Civil Liberties Union, told Hell Gate. "The government certainly has an interest in protecting worshipper access and safety, but it does not extend to suppressing lawful speech in a public place."