Thomas Berg, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas, spoke with MPR News about a proposed Minnesota bill aimed at preventing disruptions during religious services. Berg said the proposal aims to balance religious freedom with free speech rights, noting that while demonstrations are allowed outside, disrupting services could be unlawful.
From the article:
Disruption, like when people discovered that a Cities Church pastor worked for ICE and wanted parishioners to know, prompting a protest, can already be prosecuted under ordinary laws of disturbing the peace or disorderly conduct, Berg said. The proposed bill tries to be more specific.
There is some tension, or at least a trade-off, between how lawmakers could feasibly protect the rights to freedom of religion without diminishing freedom of speech, assembly and the press, Berg said.
“The protesters would have every right to stand outside the church and protest. They could protest loudly. They could make it sort of uncomfortable for people to walk into that church, but they couldn’t physically block access to the church,” Berg explained. “Inside the church, you have the right to be there, and I would think the right to put up a silent sign would be a pretty sympathetic case, but not the right to disrupt the church.”
