DOJ warns California that re-opening could 'discriminate' against religious groups
Category: News & Politics
Via: texan1211 • 6 years ago • 23 commentsBy: Kevin Johnson, USA TODAY (MSN)
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department on Tuesday put California Gov. Gavin Newsom on notice, claiming that his plan for the state's staggered re-opening from the threat posed by the coronavirus discriminates against religious groups and a return to in-person worship services.
Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband, chief of the department's Civil Rights Division, warned the governor that places of worship were being forced to take a back seat to a gradual resumption of operations at schools, restaurants, offices and shopping malls.
Dreiband, in a letter to the governor, cast the policy as "differential treatment" that unfairly singled out religious worship for restrictions that the state would not impose on other activities.
"The Department of Justice does not seek to dictate how states such as California determine what degree of activity and personal interaction should be allowed to protect the safety of their citizens," the letter states. "However, we are charged with upholding the Constitution and federal statutory protections for civil rights. Whichever level of restrictions you adopt, these civil rights protections mandate equal treatment of persons and activities of a secular and religious nature."
California authorities did not immediately respond to Justice's action.
But the warning to California marks an expansion of Justice's intervention in states where religious services have been restricted by executive orders aimed at controlling the virus' spread.
Earlier this month, Justice sided with a Virginia church in its challenge to a state shutdown order limiting the size of religious gatherings, claiming it violated constitutional guarantees of free expression.
Federal authorities moved in the Virginia case after a pastor was cited by local police for hosting a service attended by 16 people - six more than allowed for such in-person gatherings amid the coronavirus pandemic.
In March, the government joined the side of a Mississippi church after congregants were issued citations for attending a drive-in service.
Attorney General William Barr signaled early in the health emergency that Justice would be scrutinizing state policies that could be interpreted as overly restrictive.
"Many policies that would be unthinkable in regular times have become commonplace in recent weeks, and we do not want to unduly interfere with the important efforts of state and local officials to protect the public," Barr wrote in a memo to federal prosecutors. "But the Constitution is not suspended in times of crisis. We must therefore be vigilant to ensure its protections are preserved, at the same time that the public is protected."
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: DOJ warns California that re-opening could 'discriminate' against religious groups
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I wonder why the DOJ decided to warn them specifically and about religion, specifically? Link
Freedom of Religion is a constitutionally protected right. States can not infringe upon it.
Ah, the Nail Salon Amendment.
The focus needs to be on the behavior and risk of infection, not the purpose of the activity itself. So if people meet to worship and separate a little, wear masks, refrain from touching surfaces, wash their hands, and so on, I would think they should be able to go to church if they want to. Many won't want to go, of course, even if the state okays it. Especially older worshipers.
A friend of mine who lives in a small town went to church last Sunday. They have a nice little band and the members of it out numbered those who showed up to worship.
Posted on the CDC website 2 days ago...