New York state legislators plan to make vandalism outside of a house of worship a felony punishable by at least one year in jail. The New York State bill is being led by State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein and Assemblyman George Latimer (S.1909/A.180). The bill had passed the New York State Senate, and State Senator Jeffrey Klein is encouraging the New York State Assembly and the Governor to pass and support this legislation. Senator Klein is the grandson of Holocaust survivors, and during his press conference stated why the need to protect houses of worship is so vital to American religious freedom.
Senator Jeffrey Klein stated that “unfortunately there are still those who interfere with our ability to practice our religion and worship God. So my legislation, I think, is going to a long way towards making sure that we can do that.” He stated “What makes me angry is there are still some who chalk this up as children playing pranks. Well that’s absolute nonsense, and I think we have to punish those who interfere with our right to practice our religion.” He indicated that today in the New York state law there is a loophole, where someone can commit vandalism outside a house of worship and it is a misdemeanor, while committing vandalism inside the house of worship is a felony. Senator Jeffrey Klein concluded “we have to put an end to this type of violence, we have to put an end to these types of crimes of hate.”
New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein Calls for Bill to Make Vandalism Outside a House of Worship a Felony in New York
State Senator Jeffrey Klein has long championed such issues and had previously promoted a bill to protect houses of worship in 2006.
Such sentiments were echoed by New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Rabbi Joe Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis.
Regarding attacks on houses of worship, Archbishop Dolan stated: “A house of worship represents safety, security, peace, love, acceptance, the most noble aspirations that we as human beings have. When we vandalize that, when we wreck that, when we deface that, as the senator said, we strike right at the heart of what makes us great as Americans and people of faith.”
Rabbi Joe Potasnik stated: “Someone who wants to hurt one of us, hurts all of us… It is said if you are compassionate to the cruel, you end up being cruel to the compassionate. If we don’t have legislation in place that punishes the perpetrators, we cannot fulfill our moral mandate.”
New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan and Rabbi Joe Potasnik of the New York Board of Rabbis Call for Tougher Laws Against House of Worship Vandalism
Other Media Reports:
— The Journal News: Klein bill makes anti-religious vandalism a felony
— WPIX: Church And Synagogue Vandals Targeted For Tougher Sentencing
— NY1 News: Lawmakers Seek To Toughen Penalty For Vandalizing Houses Of Worship
Other Reports: