Wall Street Journal: Lawmakers Push for More Security at Houses of Worship
By Ian Lovett
Local, state and federal lawmakers are pushing for funding to protect houses of worship following a series of deadly shootings, signaling that the days of the church with its doors propped open at all hours may be over.
New York city council members want to include funding for security at houses of worship in the next budget, while state legislators in Connecticut are seeking $5 million to pay for measures such as cameras and shatterproof windows.
In Washington, D.C., Sens. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) and Gary Peters (D., Mich.) introduced legislation earlier this month to authorize $75 million in grants to help secure religious gathering places and other nonprofit organizations—up from $60 million last fiscal year. The grants fund everything from surveillance cameras to active-shooter training, a step more religious organizations are taking.
“Places of worship should be a safe haven,” Mr. Peters said in announcing the bill. “Tragically, the rise in the number of violent attacks at synagogues, mosques and churches across the country has shattered that expectation.”
The shooting last month at the Chabad of Poway synagogue, outside San Diego, was the latest in a string of deadly attacks on houses of worship. Earlier this year, a gunman killed 51 people at two New Zealand mosques.
Last year, 11 people were killed in a shooting at a Pittsburgh synagogue; in 2017, a gunman killed 26 people at a rural Texas church.
Long considered soft targets because they are open to all comers, religious places have been taking steps to add security for years. An industry around providing that security has been growing.
Sarah Levin, director of governmental affairs for the Secular Coalition for America, said grants for security at houses of worship needed also to be made available to nonreligious groups, as is the case with Department of Homeland Security grants. She noted that many secular nonprofits, such as abortion clinics, also were targets of violence. “Favoriting the security of houses of worship over the security of other communities is not only violation of separation of church and state, it’s wrong,” she said.
Religious leaders from various faiths say the recent attacks have tipped the balance they long tried to maintain between keeping the congregation safe and keeping an inviting atmosphere for newcomers in favor of tighter security. Where even a year ago, many people resisted the idea of going through metal detectors to worship, they now more often welcome displays of heavy security as signs that they will be safe once inside.
A poll of 1,000 Jewish Voters by the Jewish Electorate Institute found that more than 70% think Jewish Americans are less safe than they were two years ago.
A recent survey from Church Mutual, an insurance company focused on worship centers, found that 12% of Americans who attend religious services regularly don’t feel safe in their places of worship.
At the Islamic Center of Southern California, one of the largest mosques in Los Angeles, congregants have debated for years about what kind of security is appropriate. “It’s trending toward the desire to make our facilities much more secure,” said Omar Ricci, chairman of the Islamic Center.
The congregation now has armed security, and several members—including Mr. Ricci, a reserve Los Angeles Police Department officer—carry their weapons with them to pray. During Ramadan this month, LAPD officers are posted nearby the mosque, Mr. Ricci said.
Tighter security measures have been gradually added at nearby Sinai Temple, a Conservative Jewish congregation, in the years since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Security guards are posted at both entrances. Cameras film inside and outside the building. The stained-glass windows are covered by bulletproof glass. Just inside the entrance are bulletproof glass doors, designed to stop an intruder who shoots his way inside the building. All of the synagogue’s security guards are armed former military.
To pay for these measures, Howard Lesner, executive director of the temple, asked members for donations several years ago.
“The members don’t mind being stopped,” he said. “They are happy about it. They would like to see more being done.”
For many smaller congregations, though, such expenses are impossible.
Omar Siddiqi, a member of the Islamic Association of North Texas in Dallas, said his mosque needed more security cameras and outdoor lighting, but can’t afford all the measures he would like to put in place. After the New Zealand mosque attack this year, he put together a team of 15 members to provide unofficial security.
Two members of the group are armed. Mr. Siddiqi said he hopes others will get permits to carry concealed weapons as well. “A lot of people are like, ‘Why are we arming a bunch of individuals from the mosque?’ which I can understand,” he said. “But at the times we’re living in right now…one or two individuals is not going to solve the problem.”
