Voters should care because this bill attempts to balance two fundamental rights: the right to practice religion and the right to free speech. Currently, many states have different laws regarding protests at religious sites, but this would create a uniform federal standard with significant teeth, including the ability for individuals to sue for $5,000 per violation.

If this becomes law, it would give the Department of Justice more power to intervene in local disputes involving religious harassment. If it does not pass, legal protections for worshippers will continue to rely on a patchwork of existing local trespassing and harassment laws, which some argue are not enough to prevent intimidation at the doors of religious institutions.