Churches and other houses of worship can start holding services again in North Carolina following a ruling by federal District Court Judge James C. Dever III on Saturday, May 16.
Two Baptist churches and a nonprofit associated with 130 churches filed a federal lawsuit on Thursday, May 14 against Gov. Roy Cooper claiming that his Executive Order 138 (EO 138) restricting indoor worship services to 10 people or less was unconstitutional and requesting a temporary restraining order that Judge Dever granted.
Judge Dever’s order granting the temporary restraining order is scathing to the point that it comes close to what a layman would call “making fun of” the arguments justifying treating indoor religious activity different from other indoor activities such as shopping or working allowed by the most recent stay-at-home order, EO 138.
Judge Dever states, “There is no pandemic exception to the Constitution of the United States or the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.”
He also states, “The assembly for religious worship provisions in EO 138 starkly illustrate the extent to which religious entities and individuals are not subject to neutral or generally applicable law. The record, at this admittedly early stage of the case, reveals that the Governor appears to trust citizens to perform non-religious activities indoors (such as shopping or working or selling merchandise) but does not trust them to do the same when they worship indoors together.”
The order also notes that 15 other states have placed no attendance limitations on religious gatherings and the “Governor has failed to site any peer-reviewed study showing that religious interactions in those 15 states have accelerated the spread of COVID-19 in any manner distinguishable from non-religious interactions.”
Judge Dever notes the inconsistencies in EO 138 which allows indoor religious services to have more than 10 people present if it is “impossible” to do otherwise and leads into the discussion of funerals with, “But wait there’s more inconsistency.”
An exception to the 10 person limit on indoor religious services in EO 138 is for funerals where up to 50 people are allowed to gather, and the Judge Dever states, “At oral arguments, the Governor’s counsel conceded that there is no public health rationale for allowing 50 people to gather inside at a funeral, but to limit an indoor religious worship service to no more than 10 people. Some funerals are religious. Some funerals are not religious, the Governor’s counsel could not explain why the Governor trusts those who run funerals to have 50 people inside to attend the funeral, but only trusts religious entities and individuals to have 10 people inside to worship.”
Following the ruling the number of people who attend indoor religious services will not be limited but will be held to the same social distancing and hygiene standards as other activities.
Cooper’s office has said there is no intent to appeal the ruling and Judge Dever has scheduled a hearing for Friday, May 29.
FINALLY!!!!!!! Someone in authority that can read and understand the Bill of Rights.
Ok fearmongers…here I am, bring it on. But make sure you understand what this means. You can go to church IF you feel comfortable doing so. The social separation requirements still apply. And when you start hysterically screaming people will die because of this remember you weren’t so concerned about big box stores…hypocrites.
Praise the Lord! Men of God standing up for the the Lord and the Constitution. Now, Cooper should be, minimally, removed from office. And I mean minimally. And, any other Governor that mandated unconstitutional orders should minimally be removed from office.
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Umm, separation of Church and State. Blah, blah, blah
Here’s something else on the ridiculous list: It is safe to go to the beach or park, but illegal for a few scouts to space out at cemeteries to honor veterans with flags at Memorial Day.
Very good point sir!
It isn’t safe to go to a beach or park or don’t you see and read the news… Stone Mountain closed due to crowds and EMS being unable to respond to calls for help. Pictures from Sunset Beach crowded and no social distancing. I do believe first casualty of the virus was common sense.
Not every beach and park is jam packed, Lizzy. Or does one size fits all truly fit everything you look at? Can’t refute the argument about the scouts, though.
I can make my own decisions. If a park or beach is too crowded, I am free to leave without even having to get out of my car.
Lizzy, you watch too much TV. If you’re afraid to leave your home then stay home. Were you this afraid of influenza as well?
I keep reading about people being arrested for going both to the beach and to virtually empty public parks. At least one dad was arrested for playing with his own child at an empty public park. Perhaps it was a violation of social distancing. The Left is mainly about getting us used to the control and domination we will experience if they can get us under Communism; their real goal.
Must be exhausting keeping abreast of all the latest conspiracies. Seems energy could be better spent elsewhere. EVERY single conspiracy the right has drummed up over the years has NEVER come to fruition. Why? Because they are fairy tales.
Right! Common sense is that any indoor business, religious gathering, or ANY other event can set their own standards of admittance. If they choose to restrict us in any way, we can go elsewhere. I other words, FREEDOM to make our own choices. Outdoors, no one has jurisdiction.
This is the case of the collection plate being more important than the health of the congregation for some churches. You can mask it as a constitutional issue all you want. Many ministers have spoken out that it is too soon to have indoor services and the health of their congregation is more important than worshiping in a building. Their words: “God is everywhere” LIFE is more important than any right to free speech.
Dear Lizzy, please tell us who has threatened to force you to go to church. If you aren’t already aware of it, you ARE permitted to stay away as often and as long as you like.
P.S. You strike me as a “Karen,” a person who is consumed with fear that someone is doing something without first getting permission from YOU! And worse yet, that person may actually be smiling!
And that is acceptable since it’s the minister making the call on when he feels comfortable deciding over a power hungry bureaucrat trying to control his peons.
As for “LIFE is more important than any right to free speech” let me remind you of the words of a man who thought otherwise…Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death!
Patrick Henry
If you give up your liberties for safety, you will get neither. Our Bill of Rights is the path to Freedom for all of our citizens, and a good example to the world. FYI, there is no such thing as “safe” for human beings. We all have to overcome adversity in order to survive and prosper.
The churches I’ve heard about are NOT passing a collection plate. So that is not an issue. The issue is our Constitutional right to practice our religion freely.
And common sense dictates that most outdoor activities are automatically social distanced. Besides, what the libs never mention is that heat, humidity, and sunlight kill the virus n a matter of a very few minutes.
“LIFE is more important than any right to free speech”.
Lizzie, guess you need to read the constitution and the Bill of Rights.