House Votes to Protect Religious Freedoms
HARRISBURG – Guaranteeing that our most sacred rights and liberties are always protected, the House passed
House Bill 2530 with overwhelming bipartisan support. The bill amends existing religious freedom protection law to ensure that no government issued order may infringe on the right to assemble to worship according to a person’s faith in Pennsylvania.
“Pennsylvania was founded as a place where different religions and faiths knew they could assemble freely and peacefully without government interference,” Speaker Bryan Cutler (R-Lancaster) said. “Today’s vote reflects the vast majority of members recognize William Penn’s ‘holy experiment’ is a success and affirms that it must still be respected today.”
Cutler left the Speaker’s rostrum to offer debate on the House floor on the bill, telling the chamber in part:
“More than six months into a pandemic, millions of our friends and neighbors are out of work, employers are shutting their doors, and schools are doing all they can to teach children who in many cases are not in the classrooms. Is this the time to lock up churches? Or is the time to lift our neighbors in need, to serve our Commonwealth proudly, and answer a call bigger than ourselves just as William Penn did.”
The bill now advances to the Senate for further consideration.
Speaker Bryan Cutler
100th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives