US Supreme Court issues fifth rejection of CA’s COVID-19 restrictions on religion

The following quote may be attributed to Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Vice President of U.S. Litigation David Cortman regarding the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision Friday in Tandon v. Newsom to halt California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s COVID-19 order that limits religious gatherings to three households inside of personal residences while allowing more than three households to gather in other comparable venues:

“With this fifth rejection of California’s COVID-19 restrictions on religious exercise, the Supreme Court has made abundantly clear that the government has a duty to respect the First Amendment in this context and many others. As the court explained, the government can’t single out religious activities for harsher treatment than non-religious ones. The court also rejected the idea that such unfair treatment is okay, in this instance, because people gathering for religious purposes in homes somehow can’t be trusted to take the same precautions as people do in other places. Instead, the decision reaffirms that the government can’t ‘assume the worst when people go to worship but assume the best when people go to work.’ The Supreme Court came to the right and logical conclusion in condemning state restrictions that demonstrate this kind of unconstitutional hostility to religion.”

Alliance Defending Freedom is an alliance-building, non-profit legal organization committed to protecting religious freedom, free speech, parental rights, and the sanctity of life.

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