California Governor Gavin Newsom lost ground in a new US Supreme Court ruling yesterday that sided with a church that had defied the governor’s temporary order to restrict religious services. The justices tossed out the order from the federal trial court in the Central District of California, which had previously upheld the governor’s COVID-19 restrictions for places of worship and other venues.
This 5-4 decision follows on the heels of another decision on November 25 by the US Supreme Court, which agreed with both Jewish and Christian houses of worship that New York State restrictions were a violation of their rights. The justices said New York cannot limit attendance, even during a pandemic, in houses of worship.
In a similar ruling on December 3rd, the US Supreme Court rejected the governor’s temporary order that called for limited attendance or in some cases no attendance in houses of worship.
Attorneys for California unsuccessfully argued that the temporary restrictions on large indoor worship services “appropriately balanced pandemic rules with religious freedoms.”
In March, the governor’s order included the total closures of houses of worship; in July and later other versions of the order restricted the number of people who were allowed to attend church services.
Currently, Newsom has adjusted the order for restricted attendance of services depending upon the number of pandemic cases by county. As of this writing, California has an order for closures of most businesses that are not deemed ‘essential’ if they are located in ’tier 1’ counties, signified by having a Covid infection rate of eight percent or higher.
Pasadena-based Harvest Rock Church Inc., located in numerous counties, along with Harvest International Ministry, petitioned the US Supreme Court to weigh in on the restrictions for houses of worship. Their argument said Newsom’s order as regards religious gatherings is a violation of their first amendment rights.
Harvest Rock Church has been defying Newsom’s order during the Pandemic and decided to hire attorneys to bring a petition before the US Supreme Court. The church challenged the governor’s temporary order as unconstitutional religious discrimination.
The petition, written by attorneys at Liberty Counsel, argued that “the governor continues to impose draconian and unconscionable prohibitions on the daily life of all Californians.”
Numerous other California churches have also defied Newsom’s order and argued that while many other businesses are allowed to remain open, houses of worship are not.
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