The U.S. Supreme Court has instructed the governors of Illinois and California to respond to appeals by local churches for emergency relief from stay-at-home orders over the coronavirus.
Justice Elena Kagan and Brett Kavanaugh called for a response in the case, due Thursday night, the SCOTUS Blog reports.
In Chicago, two area churches asked the justices to allow them to hold services on Pentecost as well.
The pastor of Elim Romanian in Chicago has vowed to defy the governor’s order that bans gatherings of 10 or more people – his church was among three that were fined by the City of Chicago for holding services last weekend.
Dr. Willie Wilson sent a letter to Washington, D.C. to enlist the support of President Trump and President Donald Trump earlier this month demanded that governors and mayors reopen their churches, mosques and synagogues, arguing that they are essential and should be exempt from stay-at-home orders.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday announced churches could reopen but they would be limited to 25 percent capacity or 100 people, whichever is less.
Still, Bishop Arthur Hodges at South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom is moving forward with a lawsuit on behalf of his church
“We still have a problem here because that is clear discrimination against churches because no other enterprise in California has those restrictions placed on them, only churches. This is a clear violation of our constitutional rights to free exercise in assembly,” Hodges said.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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