Ohio lawmakers are looking to use the recent interruption of Sunday services at Cities Church in Minnesota to send a message: Don’t do it here, or else face harsh consequences.
Ohio state Rep. Tex Fischer, a Republican, is leading a bill he believes will “absolutely” be a deterrent.
Fischer told The Daily Signal he considers it “very strange” that individuals would consider it acceptable to interrupt church services, which is already not permitted in Ohio. Fischer’s bill would increase penalties for disrupting worship services in the Buckeye state.
A press release for the bill mentioned St. Paul directly when bringing up increased penalties.
“In response to a recent anti-ICE protest that disrupted a church service in St. Paul, Minnesota, the bill will increase the penalty for disturbing a lawful meeting of religious worship from a first-degree misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony,” the press release reads.
Ex-CNN host Don Lemon was arrested in connection with the Cities Church disruption.
“It’s very strange. I thought we agreed that this sort of thing was off limits, that interrupting a church service was not okay, but apparently not,” Fischer shared.
Although Fischer said that what’s going on in Ohio is not as organized, he’s still concerned that the attention the St. Paul protest received could inspire more such incidents.
Fischer offered he doesn’t want to see church services interrupted anywhere, “especially not in Ohio,” where he actually has the ability to do something about it.
The opposition has been “shockingly nasty,” Fischer told The Daily Signal, for a bill he considers to be “innocuous” and “very straightforward.”
Church service interruptions have happened in Ohio, and yet agitators have gotten away with it.
A YouTube video from January 2021 shows pro-choice individuals interrupting a Catholic Mass at St. Joseph’s in Columbus. Franklin County declined to prosecute, however.
Fischer is going to add provisions not only about repeat offenders, but also to directly involve the attorney general.
Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost supports the bill, Fischer told The Daily Signal.
A reporting mandate requirement will ensure that every incident is reported to the attorney general. There will also be a right of private action for victims to bring suit in civil court.
The Daily Signal reached out to the attorney general’s office but did not hear back.
Fischer expects the bill to have a committee assignment in the coming weeks and told The Daily Signal he is “very hopeful to get hearings” on his bill.
