A federal judge upheld Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s ban on church service gatherings, saying that the executive order was issued in the interests of public health.
Judge John Mendez, in a ruling Tuesday afternoon, ordered the Cross Culture Christian Center near Sacramento to cease holding church services after the church sued on the grounds that Newsom had violated their First Amendment rights to free assembly. The church also argued that it was being treated unequally since grocery stores and other “essential” businesses are allowed to remain open.
Mendez wrote that the comparison to grocery stores was unfair since people go to grocery stores to buy things, whereas people go to church specifically to gather. He added that, in the case of a statewide crisis, Newsom has the ability to temporarily suspend its rights.
“During public health crises, new considerations come to bear, and government officials must ask whether even fundamental rights must give way to a deeper need to control the spread of infectious disease and protect the lives of society’s most vulnerable,” Mendez wrote.
Cross Culture is one of several churches that have sued Newsom since the governor shut down the state in March. California is one of only nine states that has an outright ban on public religious services during the coronavirus pandemic. Most states either provide exemptions for churches or limit public services to 10 people or fewer.
In Illinois last week, The Beloved, an evangelical church, sued Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for extending his stay at home order, which also included a ban on all church gatherings. After the suit, Pritzker relented, changing the limit from zero to 10.
The church is pressing forward with its suit, demanding that Pritzker lift the restrictions entirely.
