The California State Assembly voted 61-2 on Tuesday to pass a bill that would create 100-foot, protest-free buffer zones around entrances and exits to houses of worship.

The bill now heads to the state Senate. On Tuesday, 17 Assembly members did not record a vote.

David Bocarsly, CEO of Jewish California, stated that the vote was a “powerful statement that California stands with every person of faith and their constitutional right to worship.”

“Jewish community members already navigate metal detectors and armed guards just to enter a synagogue,” he stated. “That is not normal, and it shouldn’t be.”

“We need de-escalation strategies” like the bill for “all faith communities that are facing rising animosity,” he added.

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