A bill to shield peaceful neighborhoods from aggressive protesters won unanimous approval by the House Judiciary Committee today.

Rep. Joe Rice, D-Littleton, carried the bill after he heard about anti-abortion protesters that swarmed a Greenwood Village neighborhood while targeting the homes of executives whose firm was building a Planned Parenthood facility in Denver.

Some protesters set up all day barbecues outside family homes. Lawmakers cited other examples of protesters across the political spectrum targeting people in their homes.

Some residents in besieged neighborhoods testified that they felt as if they were prisoners in their own homes, too frightened to leave and be confronted by aggressive protesters.

“Families should feel secure in their homes and be able to protect their children, said Rice, who sponsored SB 192, along with Sen. Steve Ward, R-Littleton, Sen. Suzanne Williams, D-Aurora, and Rep. Anne McGihon, D-Denver.

“There is a time and a place for people to express their views, but protesters should not be able to force their message into people’s homes,” Rice added.

The bill would require protesters to keep moving, establish restrictions on the size and number of signs that picketers can carry, and specify the distance from a residence that picketers must remain.

“The right to privacy is equally important to me as the right to free speech,” McGihon said. “We are trying to balance those two rights in this bill.”

Already passed by the Senate, the bill now faces a vote by the full House.

--Alan Gathright

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