Free Republic

Under the measure, houses of worship would be considered ‘essential services’ and no emergency order may ‘directly or indirectly’ cancel public worship if any businesses remain open.TALLAHASSEE, Florida (LifeSiteNews) — Florida lawmakers have passed a bill that would prohibit future “emergency orders” like those enacted during the COVID-19 response from closing down religious institutions if any businesses are allowed to stay open.Florida’s Republican-led Senate approved the measure (SB 254) in a 31-3 vote Thursday. A companion bill filed in the House, HB 215, was advanced Wednesday and awaits a floor vote.Under the new measure, houses of worship would be considered...

In Illinois Republican Party v. Pritzker, (7th Cir., Sept. 3, 2020), the U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected arguments by the Illinois Republican Party that Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker's COVD-19 Order limiting gatherings (including political gatherings) to 50 people is unconstitutional because there is an exemption from the limit for religious services. The court, denying a preliminary injunction, said in part: A careful look at the Supreme Court’s Religion Clause cases, coupled with the fact that EO43 is designed to give greater leeway to the exercise of religion, convinces us that the speech that accompanies religious exercise has a...

Government libraries can block religious groups from worshipping in public meeting rooms, a federal appeals court ruled Wednesday. The decision overturns a lower court order allowing a Christian group to pray in a Contra Costa County library. The Faith Center Church Evangelistic Ministries, which initially was rejected from holding prayer services at the county's Antioch branch, had won a court order allowing them to pray in meeting rooms open to other groups. A federal judge said it had a First Amendment right of religion to use the public's facilities. But a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of...