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California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Wednesday said that he is directing the California Highway Patrol and the California Department of Public Health to develop new protocols for public safety in the aftermath of Christian concert at the Capitol that drew thousands of mostly unmasked participants. The governor said that there is real concern that people who attended the event may not only get sick themselves, but spread COVID-19 to others who were not in attendance.

Last week, the Supreme Court ruled that Nevada can legally limit attendance at indoor religious services to just 50 persons. At the same time, casinos, restaurants, bars, theme parks, and gyms are allowed to operate at 50% capacity. This is a double standard. Why are houses of worship restricted to an arbitrary number — no matter how big the venue is or what safety precautions are in place — while business capacity is regulated based on the size of the venue? This ruling unfairly targets churches and other institutions of faith. It tells the American people that the economy is...

A federal judge said New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio "exceeded" their executive limits by limiting worship services and condoning mass protests as the state continues to reopen from coronavirus restrictions. U.S. District Judge Gary L. Sharpe issued a preliminary injunction Friday on behalf of two Catholic priests -- Steven Soos and Nicholas Stamos -- and a trio of Orthodox Jewish congregants -- Elchanan Perr, Daniel Schonborn, and Mayer Mayerfeld -- in Brooklyn, represented by the Thomas More Society.... De Blasio had "simultaneous pro-protest/anti-religious gathering messages" when he "actively...

New Jersey residents can now gather in outdoor groups of up to 250 people and rules on indoor groups were also relaxed Monday as Gov. Phil Murphy continues to gradually lift restrictions he ordered to fight the coronavirus pandemic. The easing on gathering limits comes on the same day Murphy announced indoor dining and Atlantic City casinos can reopen to customers with 25% capacity limits on July 2, just in time of the busy Fourth of July weekend. Murphy had set Monday as the date he would likely increase the gathering limits, which now stands at 250 outdoors, up from...

Tulsa police announced a curfew for areas around the BOK Center ahead of President Donald Trump’s scheduled campaign rally. In a Facebook post Thursday evening, police announced that an area of downtown will be off limits from 10 p.m. Thursday to 6 a.m. Saturday ahead of the rally. The curfew will again take effect after the rally until 6 a.m. Sunday. The curfew is the result of an executive order from Mayor G.T. Bynum, which cites both local and nationwide unrest in recent weeks as the rationale for the curfew.

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Attorney General Letitia James, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio are using coronavirus restrictions as a "blatant double standard" to discriminate against people of faith, using threats of fines and criminal prosecution, according to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday. “Why is a large worship gathering deemed more dangerous than a mass protest, full of shouting, arm-waving people in close proximity to one another?” Christopher Ferrara, Thomas More Society special counsel, said in a statement to Fox News. “These orders, both the emergency stay-home and reopening plan declarations, clearly discriminate against houses of worship,"...

A United Nations human rights expert is recommending changes in the way protests are handled in the United States, saying the process of issuing permits for demonstrations is “arbitrary” and could easily lead to discrimination against certain groups. Maina Kiai of Kenya, U.N. special rapporteur on freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, offered preliminary findings Wednesday from his visits this month to seven U.S. cities — including the sites of this year’s Democratic and Republican political conventions — to investigate how the U.S. upholds its citizens’ rights of assembly and association. Kiai’s full report to the United Nations will...

Pastor Larry Ihrig had a message for congregants as he greeted them with elbow bumps Sunday morning at the entrance to the sanctuary at Livermore’s Celebration Church. “Welcome home again, guys. I wish we could hug, but we can’t do any of that.” One congregant rejoiced as they arrived at the doors: “Thank the Lord. We’re finally back.” More than 100 worshipers came out to the church Sunday morning for the first in-person service in more than two months, curtailed in March by the region’s public health orders, put in place nearly two and a half months ago to curb...

There have been violent riots in Wisconsin's capital of Madison, where a group of about 150 demonstrators threw rocks at police officers on Saturday night, according to WITI-TV. At least 75 stores were damaged or looted overnight. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel politics and statehouse reporter Patrick Marley tweeted, "Police chief says they aren't arresting people tonight." Interim Madison Police Chief Vic Wahl said his officers stood back during the protests. While Madison didn't do much to prevent the barrage of looting in the city, officials want citizens to know that church services of more than 50 people will absolutely not be...

President Donald Trump stepped up to declare houses of worship "essential places that provide essential services" to the American people. "The governors need to do the right thing and allow these very important, essential places of faith to open right now for this weekend," he said. The president raised eyebrows by declaring that he will "override" governors if they don't do it. Where's the president's authority to override governors on this matter? I'm not a constitutional attorney, but I do have common sense. The president takes an oath of office during which he swears to "preserve, protect and defend the...

Chicago Pastor Courtney Lewis said he was in the middle of delivering a sermon to his congregation Sunday when he heard loud banging on the church doors. It was the police sent by the city's Democratic Mayor Lori Lightfoot. Lightfoot had allegedly dispatched officers in three squad cars along with two unmarked vehicles in order to shut down the service at Cornerstone Baptist Church, Lewis claimed in a letter of grievance to U.S. Attorney John Lausch.

The Capri Drive-in Theater in Branch County, Michigan, was packed on Friday evening, as moviegoers flocked in defiance of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s stay-at-home order The Capri opened for business Friday night, just hours after governor Whitmer held a press conference slamming businesses in Michigan defying her orders. Despite Whitmer’s executive orders for people to shelter in place, and for all “non-essential” businesses to remain closed, The Capri opened, and vehicles — roughly a quarter mile long — lined up to get into the drive-in theater on Friday evening. Magocs said that they have made changes to The Capri in an...

Raleigh, N.C. — Lt. Gov. Dan Forest told Christian pastors in a video conference Thursday that the political left is using COVID-19 restrictions to hurt the church and that the last chance to fight back is rapidly approaching. Forest, a Republican running this year for governor, cast stay-at-home restrictions limiting indoor church gatherings in North Carolina as part of a larger, escalating culture war against religious freedom. "There is no doubt that there are people that are on the left that are using this to pull certain levers to see how far that they can go," Forest said. "How far...

Life in the Age of the Great UnReason can be difficult for some of us. Conservatives and others who now take exception to the Internment of 2020—the reduction of citizens’ homes, towns, and states to what amounts to internment camps from which they are forbidden to leave via “Shelter-in-Place” orders—typically frame their position in terms of “reopening the economy.”    In doing so, they stack the deck against themselves. Putting the matter this way cedes the moral high ground to those who want to prolong the Internment, for it invites the latter to depict the conflict as one between those,...

Don't be surprised if you catch Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and member of the White House's coronavirus, out hiking over Memorial Day weekend. The country's leading infectious disease expert shared words of encouragement and guidance Thursday night during CNN's global coronavirus town hall, ahead of the holiday weekend. "Memorial Day, it's a very important holiday. Hopefully the sun will be out. We'll be having people who want to get out there and get fresh air. You can do that. We're not telling people to just lock in unless you're in...

The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday warned the mayor of Los Angeles and the county’s top health officer that an extension of the coronavirus stay-at-home order may be unlawful. The vague letter sent to Mayor Eric Garcetti and LA County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer did not spell out any specific violations, but noted concern about statements both had made publicly that restrictions may be prolonged without a vaccine. “Reports of your recent public statements indicate that you suggested the possibility of long-term lockdown of the residents in the city and county of Los Angeles, regardless of the legal...

On Friday, the lockdowns end It's time. It's time to stand up to overreaching governors, mayors, and bureaucrats. It's time to open up our businesses while adopting responsible, common-sense safety measures. And it's time to support those businesses by showing up to purchase their goods and services. We're calling all Americans to Stand Up, Open Up, and Show Up this Friday, May 22. For months, we've complied with lockdown and "stay-at-home" orders supposedly designed to "slow the spread" of the dangerous COVID-19 virus. But even as the infection rate slowed and rural communities saw virtually zero transmission, power-hungry and terrified...

It turns out Memorial Day weekend will not be quite the big economic and social reopening moment that Sacramento residents and businesses owners had hoped. Sacramento County health chief Peter Beilenson on Thursday reversed his approval from earlier this week for fitness centers to reopen, saying state health officials had stepped in to tell him it’s too soon. Beilenson said state health officials also told him to back off of his plans to allow groups of up to 10 get together, with social distancing, starting this weekend. Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/coronavirus/article242905031.html#storylink=cpy

The Rev. Anna Reeves considers herself fortunate that her church, St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Silver Spring Twp., sits on sprawling property. “It’s just a wonderful place for outdoor activity,” she said. On Sunday, Reeves is going to take advantage of that ample outdoor space and use it to gather with her congregation in worship while adhering to strict social distancing protocol to protect her faith community from the coronavirus. “I don’t think it’s safe yet to go into the sanctuary. It’s really not,” she said. “Our plan is to abide clearly by the state’s guidelines of having no...

President Donald Trump warned governors Friday that if they don't reopen the nation's houses of worship "right now," he will "override" them. Trump demanded the reopening in brief remarks announcing that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at his direction, will issue new guidelines to smooth the process. "Today I am identifying houses of worship, churches, synagogues, and mosques, as essential places that provide essential services, Trump said at his appearance, during which he took no questions. "Some governors have deemed liquor stores and abortion clinics as essential, but have left out churches and other houses of worship. It's...