,i #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #hbci ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #i1 #bjbf,mr4 ,suozzi 7for himself and ,mr4 ,miller of ,ohio7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on the ,judiciary ,a ,,bill ,to amend title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 to prohibit harassment of persons lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the ,first ,amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship1 within a distance of #ajj feet or closer to such place of religious worship1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,safeguarding ,access to ,congregations and ,religious ,establishments from ,disruption ,act or the ,,sacred ,act4 #b4 ,freedom of access to places of religious worship 7a7 ,in general ,chapter #ac of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bea4 ,freedom of access to places of religious worship 7a7 ,prohibited activities ,whoever1 in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce-- 7#a7 engages in any course of conduct within #ajj feet of a place of religious worship1 with the intent to intimidate or obstruct the passage of any person exercising or seeking to exercise the ,first ,amendment right to religious freedom therein1 and in a manner that causes any person to reasonably fear for their physical safety while entering or exiting the place of religious worship2 or 7#b7 within #ajj feet of a place of religious worship1 intentionally approaches and harasses any person seeking to exercise the ,first ,amendment right to religious freedom1 within #h feet of such person1 shall be punished as provided in subsection 7b74 7b7 ,penalties ,whoever violates this section shall-- 7#a7 in the case of a first offense1 be fined in accordance with this title1 or imprisoned not more than one year1 or both2 and 7#b7 in the case of a second or subsequent offense after a prior conviction under this section1 be fined in accordance with this title1 or imprisoned not more than #c years1 or both2 except that for an offense involving exclusively nonviolent conduct1 the fine shall be not more than #aj1jjj and the length of imprisonment shall be not more than six months1 or both1 for the first offense2 and the fine shall1 notwithstanding section #cega1 be not more than #be1jjj and the length of imprisonment shall be not more than #ah months1 or both1 for a subsequent offense2 and except that if bodily injury results1 the length of imprisonment shall be not more than #aj years1 and if death results1 it shall be for any term of years or for life4 7c7 ,civil remedies 7#a7 ,right of action 7,a7 ,in general ,any person aggrieved by reason of the conduct prohibited by subsection 7a7 may commence a civil action for the relief set forth in subparagraph 7,b71 except that such an action may be brought only by a person lawfully exercising or seeking to exercise the ,first ,amendment right of religious freedom at a place of religious worship or by the entity that owns or operates such place of religious worship4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award appropriate relief1 including temporary1 preliminary or permanent injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages1 as well as the costs of suit and reasonable fees for attorneys and expert witnesses4 ,with respect to compensatory damages1 the plaintiff may elect1 at any time prior to the rendering of final judgment1 to recover1 in lieu of actual damages1 an award of statutory damages in the amount of #e1jjj per violation4 7#b7 ,action by attorney general of the united states 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,attorney ,general of the ,united ,states has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is being1 has been1 or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section1 the ,attorney ,general may commence a civil action in any appropriate ,united ,states ,district ,court4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award appropriate relief1 including temporary1 preliminary or permanent injunctive relief1 and compensatory damages to persons aggrieved as described in paragraph 7#a77;,b74 ,the court1 to vindicate the public interest1 may also assess a civil penalty against each respondent-- 7i7 in an amount not exceeding #aj1jjj for a nonviolent offense and #ae1jjj for other first violations2 and 7ii7 in an amount not exceeding #ae1jjj for a nonviolent offense and #be1jjj for any other subsequent violation4 7#c7 ,actions by state attorneys general 7,a7 ,in general ,if the ,attorney ,general of a ,state has reasonable cause to believe that any person or group of persons is being1 has been1 or may be injured by conduct constituting a violation of this section1 such ,attorney ,general may commence a civil action in the name of such ,state1 as parens patriae on behalf of natural persons residing in such ,state1 in any appropriate ,united ,states ,district ,court4 7,b7 ,relief ,in any action under subparagraph 7,a71 the court may award appropriate relief1 including temporary1 preliminary or permanent injunctive relief1 compensatory damages1 and civil penalties as described in paragraph 7#b77;,b74 7d7 ,rules of construction ,nothing in this section shall be construed-- 7#a7 to prohibit any expressive conduct 7including peaceful picketing or other peaceful demonstration7 occurring outside places of religious worship protected from legal prohibition by the ,first ,amendment to the ,constitution2 or 7#b7 to provide exclusive criminal penalties or civil remedies with respect to the conduct prohibited by this section1 or to preempt ,state or local laws that may provide such penalties or remedies4 7e7 ,definitions ,for purposes of this section3 7#a7 ,the term obstruct means to render impassable ingress to or egress from a place of religious worship1 or to render passage to or from a place of religious worship unreasonably difficult or hazardous4 7#b7 ,the term intimidate means to place a person in reasonable apprehension of imminent physical injury to himself or herself or to another person4 7#c7 ,the term harass means to commit a serious act or engage in a course of conduct directed at a specific person that interferes with their freedom of movement1 and is intended to and does place that person in reasonable fear of physical harm1 or is intended to and does cause that person to reasonably experience substantial emotional distress4 7#d7 ,the term course of conduct means a series of acts over a period of time1 however short1 indicating a continuity of purpose4 7#e7 ,the term serious act means a single act of threatening1 intimidating1 or violent conduct4 7#f7 ,the term place of religious worship means any building1 structure or space that is used primarily for religious worship activities or to provide religious education or instruction1 and includes the parking lot1 parking lot entrance1 driveway and driveway entrance of any such building1 structure1 or space4 4 7b7 ,clerical amendment ,the table of sections for chapter #ac of title #ah1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 #bea4 ,freedom of access to places of religious worship4 4