Nassau County, NY Sued Over House of Worship Protest Buffer Zone

A new law in Nassau County, NY prohibiting protests near houses of worship broadly criminalizes protected speech and gives “unbounded discretion” to police, the New York Civil Liberties Union says.

The complaint, filed Tuesday in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, marks the first challenge of “buffer zones” outside of churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship in New York, the NYCLU said.

The law, passed in January, establishes a fixed buffer zone that prohibits people from demonstrating, distributing literature, displaying signs, or engaging in “oral advocacy” or other forms of “symbolic conduct” ...