The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of the a Catholic diocese and Orthodox Jews who were seeking to block New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s limits on attendance at houses of worship. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch wrote:”…while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues, and mosques.” -GEG
The Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the Catholic Diocese and Orthodox Jews who were seeking to block New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s authoritarian attendance limits on houses of worship.
On Wednesday evening, the Supreme Court voted 5 to 4 in favor of religious freedom, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the court’s three liberal members dissenting.
The court decided that Gov. Cuomo’s restrictions violated the First Amendment’s protection of the free exercise of religion. The New York Times reports that Justice Neil M. Gorsuch said Cuomo had treated secular activities more favorably than religious ones.
“It is time — past time — to make plain that, while the pandemic poses many grave challenges, there is no world in which the Constitution tolerates color-coded executive edicts that reopen liquor stores and bike shops but shutter churches, synagogues, and mosques,” Justice Gorsuch wrote.
