A bill to improve Federal protection of synagogues and other houses of worship that are the target of arsonists was introduced today by Rep. Benjamin S. Rosenthal, New York Democrat. The legislation would “close the gap among state laws and between Federal and state law in those instances where states have weak or ineffective protection for houses of worship victimized by arsonists,” he said. The present law makes it a Federal crime to use explosives to destroy a house of worship and some states have no laws covering certain categories of arson. In introducing his measure. Rep. Rosenthal cited the recent wave of fires and vandalism in synagogues in the New York metropolitan area. He noted that the Bill of Rights guarantees Americans freedom of worship and the Civil Rights Act of 1968 extended Federal protection to individuals whose civil rights, including the right to worship, are violated.
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