Georgia CommonsSB 591: Offenses Against Public Order; the disruption of a religious service; prohibit
Last action May 12, 2026 · Effective Date 2026-07-01
A Georgia Senate bill would extend the state's existing funeral-disruption law to cover religious services as well, making it a crime to disrupt worship gatherings and raising the penalty when the disruption happens at a military funeral.
The summaries below were written by an AI model (claude-sonnet-5) from the text of the bill and are not part of it. Quote the text, not the summary. The stored text is the Enrolled version, the latest LegiScan holds.
In plain language
Georgia law already makes it a misdemeanor to disrupt a funeral or memorial service through threats, loud noise, blocking access, or protests near the site. This bill expands that law (O.C.G.A. § 16-11-34.2) to also cover religious services, defined as any public gathering for worship, religious observance, or another religious purpose. The bill keeps the same four categories of banned conduct, such as displaying threatening images, yelling or using amplified noise, blocking pedestrian or vehicle access, or holding a protest or demonstration within 500 feet of the location, but now applies them to religious services in addition to funerals and memorials. These restrictions apply from one hour before to one hour after the event. Violations remain a misdemeanor, except the bill adds that disrupting a funeral or memorial service for someone receiving military funeral honors becomes an aggravated misdemeanor, a more serious charge with harsher penalties.
What the bill does
- Adds religious services to Georgia's existing funeral-disruption law, defining a religious service as any public gathering for worship or religious purpose.
- Applies the same disorderly-conduct restrictions, threats, loud noise, blocking access, and nearby protests, to religious services as already applied to funerals and memorial services.
- Extends the 500-foot buffer zone and one-hour-before-to-one-hour-after time window to cover religious services.
- Creates a new, harsher penalty: disrupting a funeral or memorial service for someone receiving military funeral honors becomes an aggravated misdemeanor instead of a regular misdemeanor.
- Applies the restrictions to facilities, buildings, or other locations both inside and outside where the service takes place, not just a fixed ceremonial site.
Who it affects
People who attend, plan, or hold religious services, funerals, or memorial services; protesters or demonstrators near such events; families of military service members receiving funeral honors; and law enforcement and prosecutors who would enforce the expanded law.
Why it matters
Protesters, demonstrators, or disruptive individuals near a church service, funeral, or memorial could now face criminal charges under a broader set of rules than before, since the law's protections extend beyond funerals to worship gatherings generally. Disrupting a military funeral now carries a more serious criminal charge.
Key provisions
- New subsection (a) defines 'religious service' as any public assembly of persons for worship, religious observance, or other religious purpose.
- Subsection (b) states the General Assembly's interest in protecting religious services, along with funerals and memorial services, from unwanted disruption.
- Subsection (c) lists four types of banned disorderly conduct, including threatening displays, loud noise, blocking access, and nearby demonstrations, now applying to religious services as well as funerals.
- Subsection (c) extends the restricted zone to facilities, buildings, or other locations 'both inside and outside' the service, broadening where the 500-foot buffer applies.
- Subsection (d) makes violations a misdemeanor generally, but raises the penalty to an aggravated misdemeanor if the disruption occurs at a funeral or memorial service involving military funeral honors.
From the bill
“the term 'religious service' means any public assembly of persons for worship, religious observance, or other religious purpose.”
“if such person engages in disorderly or disruptive conduct at a funeral or memorial service of an individual receiving military funeral honors, such person shall be guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor.”
Status timeline
- Effective Date 2026-07-01
- Act 626
- Senate Date Signed by Governor (Senate)
- Senate Sent to Governor (Senate)
- House Passed/Adopted (House)
- House Third Readers (House)
- House Committee Favorably Reported (House)
- House Second Readers (House)
Show full history (17 actions)
- House First Readers (House)
- Senate Passed/Adopted (Senate)
- Senate Third Read (Senate)
- Senate Taken from Table (Senate)
- Senate Tabled (Senate)
- Senate Read Second Time (Senate)
- Senate Committee Favorably Reported (Senate)
- Senate Read and Referred (Senate)
- Senate Hopper (Senate)
Sponsors
- Steve Gooch (R, SD-051)
- Jason Anavitarte (R, SD-031)
- Larry Walker (R, SD-020)
- Carden Summers (R, SD-013)
- Drew Echols (R, SD-049)
- Bo Hatchett (R, SD-050)
- Randy Robertson (R, SD-029)
- John Albers (R, SD-056)
- Russ Goodman (R, SD-008)
- Frank Ginn (R, SD-047)
- Timothy Bearden (R, SD-030)
- Clint Dixon (R, SD-045)
- Shawn Still (R, SD-048)
- Lee Anderson (R, SD-024)
- Ricky Williams (R, SD-025)
- Bill Cowsert (R, SD-046)
- Deborah Silcox (R, HD-053)
Votes
- Senate voteMarch 6, 2026
39 yea, 13 nay (0 not voting, 3 absent)
- House voteMarch 31, 2026
128 yea, 39 nay (2 not voting, 7 absent)
Topics
- religious freedom
- public order laws
- funeral disruption
- criminal penalties
- military funerals