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Governor Gavin Newsom. (Photo: Kevin Sanders for California Globe)

Religious Freedom: U.S. Supreme Court Vacates Appeals Court Ruling on California Church Closures

SCOTUS Justice Kagan had ordered Gov. Newsom to respond to emergency petition by Harvest Rock Church

By Katy Grimes, December 3, 2020 11:39 am

It was recently reported that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan ordered California Gov. Gavin Newsom to respond to an emergency petition filed by Harvest Rock Church and Harvest International Ministry, which requests an injunction pending appeal in their federal lawsuit against the governor.

Apparently the governor and his legal team ignored the church’s emergency petition, eliciting the directive from Justice Kagan.

Elena Kagan, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. (Photo: Wikipedia)

The church alleges that the governor’s executive orders imposing lockdowns since March specifically target and discriminate against houses of worship in California.

“Harvest ministries fall in Tier 1, in which the governor prohibits all indoor worship services, including home Bible studies where those who do not live in the host’s home are prohibited from participating,” The Center Square reported. “Since March, Newsom has allowed feeding, sheltering, and nonreligious counseling with an unlimited number of people in the same church building, but once these or other activities become ‘religious’ in nature they are either banned or severely restricted, Liberty Counsel says.”

Just last week, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 in favor of the Brooklyn, New York Diocese and Orthodox Jewish synagogues in their case against the state’s COVID restrictions, Catholic News Agency reported.

“According to the churches’ appeal, California banned indoor worship ‘in over 41 counties,’ prohibited singing as a high-risk activity in counties where indoor worship was allowed, and even banned some indoor religious gatherings in private homes.”

“Harvest Rock alleged that Newsom has applied a double-standard during the nine months of the pandemic, curbing religious services while allowing comparable non-religious gatherings and mass protests to continue ‘without numerical restriction.’”

Catholic News Agency said Harvest Rock Church reported that following Newsom’s order, local officials began sending letters “threatening up to 1 year in prison, daily criminal charges and $1,000 fines against the pastors, church, governing board, staff, and parishioners” if they did not comply with the restrictions.

“The church filed the lawsuit against the state, but a district court would not grant its request to halt the restrictions. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals also ruled against the church in October, refusing to overrule the district court’s decision and saying that while the state provided expert testimony to support its public health restrictions, the church had not provided its own health expert to make its case.”

Justice Kagan was recently assigned to oversee the Ninth Circuit.

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7 thoughts on “Religious Freedom: U.S. Supreme Court Vacates Appeals Court Ruling on California Church Closures

  1. Pastors, parishioners are thrown in jail for a year for expressing their right to religious beliefs and freedom. Law abiding citizens who contribute greatly to their communities. While Newsom releases thousands of REAL criminals, child porn, domestic violence, drug charges, pedophiles with no sex registry accountability, burglars, theives. On top of that they leave jail with a nice bank account from the fraudulent EDD money obtained while incarcerated however law abiding citizens are slapped with fines. Makes no sense. These politicians and health department puppets need to be dethroned and sent out to sea, they have good friends in China, float them there.

    1. Stacy you forgot when Newsom banned capital punishment in March 2019 after it was upheld by two consecutive general elections by the California voters. Also in recent months he pardoned convicted murderers.

    2. Yes that’s what appears to be happening the criminals are set free to steal while religious freedom is under attack. Does the Governor go to jomes to see if they’re doing bible studies or planning an antifa rally.

  2. Gov. Newsom seems to be following in the path of his Marxist globalist cronies with his attempts to destroy religious liberty?

  3. Newsom will be remembered with other villains such as Stalin, Pol Pot and Mao in his zeal to destroy religious freedom.

  4. A fake virus does not dissolve the USAs constitutional rights for its citizens. We have the right to assemble. The corporate paid media is saying the hospitals are full but statistics show otherwise and patients are reporting empty parking lots

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