Justice Neil Gorsuch denied a petition on Tuesday from two churches in his home state of Colorado that sought relief from the state’s COVID-19 restrictions.
Gorsuch, who has jurisdiction over cases originating in the state, gave no explanation to the rest of the court as to why he declined the Denver Bible Church’s and the Community Baptist Church’s petition, according to SCOTUSblog. The two churches sought an injunction for COVID-19 capacity, distancing, cleaning, and mask mandates, according to court documents.
“The government failed to meet its burden of proof requiring a preponderance of evidence that secular activities pose less of a statutory danger of ‘imminent’ and ‘widespread death or injury’ than do comparable activities by houses of worship,” attorneys for the churches wrote.
NEWSOM ORDERED TO PAY $1.35 MILLION FOR COVID-19 CHURCH DISCRIMINATION
Depsite Tuesday’s decision, some churches have found success in challenging state COVID-19 restrictions at the Supreme Court. On Nov. 25, the court sided with New York churches that challenged Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s attendance limits on houses of worship. On May 25, California Gov. Gavin Newsom was ordered to pay $1.35 million in costs and attorney fees to a Pasadena church that challenged his capacity limits.
The petition sought action against the Colorado Disaster Emergency Act, arguing that it is not generally applicable and thus violative of the First Amendment because its mandates exist differently “from one political subdivision to the next” and especially burdened churches while giving special treatment to other industries, according to attorneys for the churches.
“Inasmuch as CDEA fully exempts news and commentary, labor disputes, fire fighters, police and service members, the public interest is also served by exempting houses of worship or in the alternative, striking down CDEA as void because as written, it cannot be salvaged in the case of an emergency declared for a virus,” they wrote.
In response to the petition, the state argued the churches’ case is moot because they, like other industries, were declared essential under the CDEA and the law did not violate the First Amendment.
“Colorado has categorized houses of worship as critical businesses from its first public health orders during the pandemic, and they have remained open throughout the pandemic response,” the state’s counsel wrote.
“There is no language in the Colorado Disaster Act, as Denver Bible Church concedes, that refers to, much less targets, religious practice,” they added.
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The Denver Bible Church and the Community Baptist Church did not immediately respond to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
