Supreme Court Abandons Churches

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TRANSCRIPT

The U.S. Supreme Court is abandoning houses of worship who are pleading to resume services.

On Friday, in a late-night 5–4 decision, the High Court ruled that churches aren't being discriminated against under California's authoritarian lockdown orders.

Democrat governor Gavin Newsom restricted church attendance to a maximum occupancy of 25 percent, or 100 people, whichever is lower.

Meanwhile grocery stores, marijuana dispensaries and abortion mills are not subject to these limits, as long as they follow proper hygiene and social distancing.

Catholic Chief Justice John Roberts sided with liberals in the case, holding, "Although California's guidelines place restrictions on places of worship, those restrictions appear consistent with the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment."

But another Catholic Justice, Brett Kavanaugh, took a stand for religious freedom.

In his dissent, he said the lockdown orders were in violation of the First amendment saying, "the State may not take a looser approach with, say, supermarkets, restaurants, factories, and offices while imposing stricter requirements on places of worship."

He also asked some pointed questions, "Assuming all of the same precautions are taken, why can someone safely walk down a grocery store aisle but not a pew? And why can someone safely interact with a brave deliverywoman but not with a stoic minister?"

The decision sets the stage for other religious liberty cases brought on behalf of churches and some critics are slamming the ruling for setting a dangerous precedent.

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