Last fall, the director of an American-Islamic advocacy organization stated that he “was happy to see” Palestinians break out of Gaza on Oct. 7, the day of the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel.

The Biden administration removed the name of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) from a document discussing commitments to fight antisemitism.

Last April, a Commission on Hate Crime Response and Prevention was enacted by the General Assembly.

Can this year’s legislature pass a bill that would remove the CAIR member from the commission and substitute two representatives of the Muslim community?

That’s what House Bill 763, introduced by Delegate Dalya Attar, would do.

I am a co-sponsor.

I also asked Professor Mark A. Graber, who teaches at the University of Maryland School of Law, to testify.

Among the reasons he gave that HB 763 is constitutional: people who give advice to government officials that is inconsistent with the leader’s policy views are not protected by the First Amendment.

A related bill was before my committee.

House Bill 809, sponsored by Delegate Joseph Vogel, would allow for the suspension or removal of an appointee to a commission on the grounds of “misconduct, incompetence, neglect of duties, or other good cause.”

It’s now my job to help my committee refine this bill and send it to the House floor.