U.S. Supreme Court is seen in Washington, U.S., November 27, 2017. | REUTERS/Yuri Gripas
The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday issued an order blocking California from enforcing restrictions on in-home religious gatherings, including prayer meetings and Bible studies.
California’s rule that limits at-home religious gatherings to three households violates the First Amendment’s protection of religious exercise, the court ruled in a 5-4 unsigned order chiding the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for its failure to grant an injunction.
“California treats some comparable secular activities more favorably than at-home religious exercise, permitting hair salons, retail stores, personal care services, movie theaters, private suites at sporting events and concerts, and indoor restaurants to bring together more than three households at a time,” the majority opinion stated.
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Reuters
First-amendment
April 12, 2021
On Friday, for the fifth time the U.S. Supreme Court slapped down a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision upholding anti-religious COVID restrictions established by California’s embattled Gov. Gavin Newsom. The court’s unsigned order in
Tandon v. Newsom represents much more than a victory for the plaintiffs who sought to host Bible studies in their homes on equal footing with analogous commercial activities: It signifies the reemergence of religious liberty as a valued jurisprudential principle to the Supreme Court.
In the
Tandon case, Pastor Jeremy Wong and Karen Busch challenged restrictions the California Department of Public Health placed on Bible studies and prayer meetings held at worshipers’ homes as part of the Golden State’s so-called “Blueprint for a Safer Economy.” California’s “Blueprint” followed several earlier regulations based on authority purportedly provided to the Department of Public Health by Newsom’s proclamation of a s
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During his time of pandemic-excused one-man rule (aided and abetted by a State Legislature able but unwilling to set aside his emergency powers), California Governor Gavin Newsom issued orders that gutted the State’s economy and squashed public assemblies of all kinds.
Even at-home religious observance (for example, Bible study) were not allowed if those gathered came from more than three households.
This particular restriction was taken to court by Pastor Jeremy Wong and others. Over the last year, the case wound a weary path to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which returned a negative verdict against their request for injunctive relief pending a final Ninth Circuit decision.
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