America Demands Justice NOW

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Federal Court Rules In Favor Of California Dem Gov. Newsom’s Orders Keeping Churches Closed
May 27, 2020

The Trump administration has made it clear numerous times that they will not tolerate discriminatory — and potentially illegal — actions against churches during the coronavirus pandemic.

California is still largely under lockdown given Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom’s controversial stay-at-home order, which placed tight restrictions on “nonessential businesses,” a category that includes places of worship.

The South Bay United Pentecostal Church considered that to be an unconstitutional infringement on religious liberty, but two Democrat-appointed judges decided otherwise.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a 2-1 ruling that rejected the church’s request for a temporary restraining order against the lockdown order.

Democrat Judges Jacqueline Nguyen and Barry Silverman wrote in their order that California’s lockdown policy does not “infringe upon or restrict practices because of their religious motivation.”

The judges also claimed that the severity of the coronavirus disease warranted lockdown orders.

“We’re dealing here with a highly contagious and often fatal disease ???for which there presently is no known cure,” they wrote.

On the same day as the ruling, President Donald Trump delivered powerful remarks in favor of reopening churches and said people have a right to attend services.

“At my direction the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC] is issuing guidance for communities of faith,” the president told reporters at a press conference.

“Today I’m identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues, mosques, as essential places that provide essential services,” he continued.

The president went on to point out the logical inconsistency in how “some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential but have left out churches and houses of worship,” places that “hold our society together and keep our people united.”

“It’s not right,” he remarked, according to the White House’s transcript. “So I’m correcting this injustice and calling houses of worship essential. I call upon governors to allow our churches and places of worship to open right now. If there’s any question they’re going to have to call me, but they’re not going to be successful in that call.

“If they don’t do it I will override the governors,” Trump warned, according to ABC. “In America we need more prayer, not less.”

Attorney General William Barr has also come out against churches being shut down because of lockdown orders.

Last month, Greenville, Mississippi, Democratic Mayor Errick Simmons issued an order banning all in-person services, including drive-in services.

After the order’s release, Greenville police ticketed members of Temple Baptist Church, who held a service anyway, with $500 fines. Police also broke up another service held by King James Bible Baptist Church.

Temple Baptist officially sued on Friday and King James threatened further legal action.

Simmons backed down and retracted the fines but did not rescind the order.

In response, Barr wrote in a letter saying that while social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic is important, it is equally important to abide by the Constitution when issuing stay-at-home orders.

“Even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers,” Barr wrote. “Thus, the government may not impose special restrictions on religious activity that do not also apply to similar nonreligious activity.”

https://conservativebrief.com/court-issues-devastating-2-1-decision-trump-told-no-21832/?utm_source=ConservativeBrief.com&utm_medium=direct