By a 5-4 vote on Friday the Supreme Court upheld Nevada’s coronavirus regulation that limits attendance at indoor religious services to 50 persons.
Some businesses in the state, such as casinos, may admit 50% of their capacity.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan decided July 24 to deny the application for injunctive relief presented by Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley, an ecclesial community in Dayton, Nev., about 40 miles southeast of Reno.
The majority offered their decision in Calvary Chapel Dayton Valley v. Sisolak without comment. The same justices had ruled similarly in May regarding California’s coronavirus limits on religious services.
Justice Samuel Alito wrote a dissent which was joined by Justices Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh, while Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote a separate dissent and Kavanaugh added his own thoughts.
The church argued that Governor Steve Sisolak’s coronavirus regulations unjustly targeted houses of worship compared to businesses such as casinos and restaurants. According to Alliance Defending Freedom, whose attorney’s represent Calvary Chapel, “Sisolak’s rule allows casinos, restaurants, bars, theme parks, and gyms to operate at 50% capacity but restricts churches to gatherings of 50 or fewer people regardless of building size.”
The ecclesial community sought permission for gatherings of about 90 persons, which is 50% of its capacity. It is currently holding three services each Sunday. Its website says face coverings are required and will be supplied in case of need, and ushers are ensuring social distancing.
Sisolak has said that casinos are more closely regulated by the state than are houses of worship, and so pose less of a threat to public health.
Both a district court and the Ninth Circuit had already denied Calvary Chapel’s application for relief from the governor’s regulation.
Gorsuch’s brief dissent observed that “this is a simple case. Under the Governor’s edict, a 10- screen ‘multiplex’ may host 500 moviegoers at any time. A casino, too, may cater to hundreds at once, with perhaps six people huddled at each craps table here and a similar number gathered around every roulette wheel there. Large numbers and close quarters are fine in such places. But churches, synagogues, and mosques are banned from admitting more than 50 worshippers — no matter how large the building, how distant the individuals, how many wear face masks, no matter the precautions at all.”
“In Nevada, it seems, it is better to be in entertainment than religion. Maybe that is nothing new. But the First Amendment prohibits such obvious discrimination against the exercise of religion. The world we inhabit today, with a pandemic upon us, poses unusual challenges. But there is no world in which the Constitution permits Nevada to favor Caesars Palace over Calvary Chapel,” he wrote.
Kavanaugh wrote that “Nevada has offered no persuasive justification for that overt discrimination against places of worship. The risk of COVID–19 transmission is at least as high at restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms as it is at religious services. Indeed, people congregating in restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms often linger at least as long as they do at religious services. And given the safety measures that Calvary Chapel and other places of worship are following—including social distancing, mask wearing, and certain additional voluntary measures—it is evident that people interact with others at restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms at least as closely as they do at religious services.”
He said the state’s “discrimination against religious services violates the Constitution. To be clear, a State’s closing or reopening plan may subject religious organizations to the same limits as secular organizations. And in light of the devastating COVID–19 pandemic, those limits may be very strict. But a State may not impose strict limits on places of worship and looser limits on restaurants, bars, casinos, and gyms, at least without sufficient justification for the differential treatment of religion. As I will explain, Nevada has thus far failed to provide a sufficient justification, and its current reopening plan therefore violates the First Amendment.”
And Alito wrote: “The Constitution guarantees the free exercise of religion. It says nothing about the freedom to play craps or blackjack, to feed tokens into a slot machine, or to engage in any other game of chance. But the Governor of Nevada apparently has different priorities. Claiming virtually unbounded power to restrict constitutional rights during the COVID–19 pandemic, he has issued a directive that severely limits attendance at religious services. A church, synagogue, or mosque, regardless of its size, may not admit more than 50 persons, but casinos and certain other favored facilities may admit 50% of their maximum occupancy— and in the case of gigantic Las Vegas casinos, this means that thousands of patrons are allowed.”
While Nevada’s discrimination “in favor of the powerful gaming industry … may not come as a surprise,” he called “disappointing” the willingness of the court’s majority “to allow such discrimination….”
The above comes from a July 25 story on Catholic News Agency.
This makes no sense. How will those who are adamant that churches be closed defend having open casinos? Hmm???? What about the Gay Gestapo in San Francisco who shut down a Catholic wedding? Will they march into Indian casinos and demand that they close too? Hmm????
So get this, according to the totalitarian Left:
No churches. Worship bad.
Orange Man bad.
BLM protests, rioting, maskless marches good.
Casinos good.
Religion bad.
It’s so clear that this is an agenda-driven, ideological attempt to gain political power for the libs. Soros money is behind it.
Thank you Calvary Chapel for addressing this injustice. My question is why didn’t our bishops from Nevada take the lead on this?
Man oh man….Roberts is worse that Souter was…what a bust…and all the trouble we went through for that guy…
Some you win, some you lose. But we must always remember that the oath taken by a judge, a president, a senator or member of the House is not to a religion, not to a political party, much as we would wish these from time to time. The Oath is to the Constitution, to serve and protect it. The justices always express their views relative to the Constitution, even if we don’t like their judgment.
How naive. Obama took an oath to defend the Constitution too but he was its number one enemy when he was the president. No Democrat values the Constitution. No leftist values the Constitution. Just like they are tearing down statues of the Founders, they have been tearing down the Constitution. They would abolish it if they could get away with it.
Until Governor Steve Sisolak figures out how to dip his beak into church collections, like he currently does with the casinos, nothing will change. As the infamous Democratic-Socialist, Ilhan Omar recently observed, “It’s all about the Benjamins baby!”
I hope all of you rmember a week or so ago, many of you were telling us that deaths due to COVID were on the decline. Well…we just topped 150 thousand deaths in the great old USA. Isn’t it great that America is Great Again! We are on top!! https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html?action=click&module=Top%20Stories&pgtype=Homepage
When you have more people tested if course the cases will increase not to mention the “rioters” who are endangering everyone lives. Let’s not forget that the death rate in most states are declining. And you’ve got to be kidding listing as your source the NY Times, with all the news that’s NOT fit to print! They have a credibility gap to say the least.
NY Times only has a credibility gap with peoeple who don’t want facts. Cite your own source if you don’t like mine. On th eone hand, you say the virus is not spreading at all, next thing you are saying rioters are spreading the virus. Which is it? Is the virus spreading or isn’t it? Herman Cain just died of the virus. Was he among the rioters?
Make up your mind please, is the virus being spread as every news outlet and government agency is telling us, or isn’t the virus spreading?
Crredibility is surely lacking. In commentary on this site.
Facts? The sky is not falling and yes, the NY Times has NO credibility anymore. The increase in cases because of testing was bound to happen and of course, the rioters are to blame considering most cases involve younger adults. Source is evident. Just look at the facts played out on the news daily.
You offer no source Ronnie, you just continue to rant. You have no source, nor facts, no logic. Herman Cain was seen rioting, where, exactly? In other posts, you don’t say most cases involve younger adults, deaths involve the elderly, so which is it? Make up your mind. Is it among rioters and younger adults, or Herman Cain and older adults. “Source is evidet:. “:Just look at the facts played out on the news daily.”. Which facts, Ronnie? You not only don’t cite a source, you can’t even list any facts.
When liberal governors like Cuomo put people back into nursing homes with the virus it was predominately older Americans but lately with the rioters it’s younger people. What don’t you get about that: Here’s one source but there are many, even the fake news is acknowledging it now:.https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2020/06/26/covid-19-surge-featured-rapid-growth-among-younger-people/3258221001/. Another: https://www.cnn.com/2020/06/22/opinions/20-and-30-year-olds-spreading-covid-19-bromage/index.html
Funny how facts get in the way of the leftist agenda.
It is true that this most recent surge is about half among people under 50, as predicted since they are the ones out and about. What doest that have anything to do with anything, though really? Facts get in the way of the “leftist” agenda, seriously? What is leftist about saving lives? It is the human thing to do.
I find it interesting that you point to a source that says that cases among those UNDER 18 are up 144.4%. You might have notion that these are the kids that Trump wants to open the schools up for this month. Ordering those schools open or threatening them with losing funding for underpriviledged kids.
But its not just cases that are surging. Deaths are surging. This week, more people died in Texas plus Florida alone than died on 9|11.
Cases are not increasing because there is more testing. Cases are cases. Having expanded testing during May and June, it is true we are detecting cases among people who might not have gone for testing before. But even after you take into consideration the increase in testing, we have gone from 2-4% positive tests to as high as 20% positive tests – all depending on the location. We need to put aside this notion that if we just tested less we would have fewer infected people. It is just nonsense. It is like saying if you don’t measure people’s blood pressure, fewer people would have high blood pressure. Just not the way it works.
Anonymous doesn’t think that the pro-abortion pro-homosexual death march that the leftist are engaging in and pushing is dangerous. And please don’t mention about “underprivileged kids” which is precisely what the left has done to them by destroyed education opportunities by not allowing any choice in education.. Trump wants it done safely by the way. Did we lock the schools last year when more of our children died of the flu than the virus. Fear is destroying our nation.
If you waint until after people or kids die – it is too late to save them, isn’t it Ronnie?
You claim Trump wants to open safely, but he ignores camps among kids of this age where have of them get it. He wants to open safely, ou say, but provides no guidance or funds for PPE, testing etc to the schools
His Sec of Education literally said that individual school districts should look up on the internet how European schools did it, rather than issue guidance. Oh good grief!
And what about all those kids who died from the Flu last year? No concern there. Trump is providing plenty of guidance. You can’t hear it because your ears are closed.
The cure is worse than the disease. In addition to causing millions of people to lose their jobs and shutter their businesses, the restrictive measures taken by lawmakers have led to a huge uptick in suicides, supposedly virus-positive people being fitted with ankle monitors, and governments telling people they may not sing in church or even while live-streaming services in an empty church. Moreover, many have died alone in hospitals without the comfort of family by their side. There are even global food shortages causing tens of thousands of children to die from starvation. In addition to causing millions of people to lose their jobs and shutter their businesses, the restrictive measures taken by lawmakers have led to a huge uptick in suicides, supposedly virus-positive people being fitted with ankle monitors, and governments telling people they may not sing in church or even while live-streaming services in an empty church. Moreover, many have died alone in hospitals without the comfort of family by their side. There are even global food shortages causing tens of thousands of children to die from starvation.
Weddings and funerals in many places have also been banned or severely restricted, although elites have ignored their own rules. For instance, many U.S. lawmakers packed a Georgia church for the funeral of Rep. John Lewis, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser then exempted them from the district’s requirement that anyone coming from Georgia quarantine for two weeks. So give it a rest and stop the dramatics….
Weddings and funerals in many places have also been banned or severely restricted, although elites have ignored their own rules. For instance, many U.S. lawmakers packed a Georgia church for the funeral of Rep. John Lewis, and D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser then exempted them from the district’s requirement that anyone coming from Georgia quarantine for two weeks.
Oops! Repeated myself on last paragraph…Sorry about that…
Oh, give it a rest will you. Why is it that kids become important to liberals only when it suits their agenda which is trying to destroy anything Trump does.