Supreme Court strikes down California’s COVID ban on church services

This kind of slid under the radar but last Friday the Supreme Court ruled in favor of religious freedom when it struck down California’s COVID-19 ban on in-person worship by a 6-3 margin. Here is more:

the Supreme Court on Friday ruled 6-3 that Santa Clara County, California, officials cannot forbid churches in the Silicon Valley region from holding in-person worship services.

Chief Justice John Roberts joined with justices Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Brett Kavanaugh, and Neil Gorsuch in striking down Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Tier 1 ban on indoor worship services. The majority also singled out the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, noting that its “failure to grant relief was erroneous.”

Liberal justice Elena Kagan, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor dissented.

“This is another great victory for California against the governor’s draconian orders,” said Liberty Counsel Founder and Chairman Mat Staver. 

This is a no-brainer and it should have been a unanimous decision, the Constitution is pretty clear about a person’s right to worship and oddly enough it does not include an exception for a virus. Still we will take the victory and this is a big one. We no longer can trust John Roberts but he got this one right.

Still, I am a little confused because back in May John Roberts sided with the liberals in upholding California worship ban. Maybe one of my California readers can help clarify this for us.

malo periculosam libertatem quam quietum servitium