Supreme Court Rules That NY Governor Cuomo’s Restrictions On Houses Of Worship Are Unconstitutional

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The Supreme Court has ruled in a 5-4 decision that New York Governor Cuomo’s restrictions on houses of worship are unconstitutional.

In red zones, services were limited to 10 worshipers, regardless of the capacity of the house of worship. In orange zones the limit was 25 worshipers. Those restrictions have been ruled unconstitutional.

Newly appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett provided the decisive 5th vote in striking down Cuomo’s restrictions. Chief Justice John Roberts, appointed by President George W. Bush, sided with the liberal wing of the court in dissent of the 5-4 decision. The majority of the justices ruled that the restrictions violated the free exercise of religion and treated secular activities more favorably than religious ones.

What do you think of the Supreme Court’s ruling?

HT: Euclid, via DDF

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75 Comments On "Supreme Court Rules That NY Governor Cuomo’s Restrictions On Houses Of Worship Are Unconstitutional"

All opinions expressed below are user generated and the opinions aren’t provided, reviewed or endorsed by any advertiser or DansDeals.

YoniPDX

B”H

Memere613

Well there’s a lot to unpack in how cjr dissented (essentially would 6-3) and Sotomayers ludicrous referencing of the “Muslim Ban”. But I’ll take a win any day 🙂 BH

Joe Kay

It’s only a temporary injunction but either way it’s great news!

Sam

Correct. The Court simply granted temporary relief until court of Appeals’ December decision.

Deb

Anyone with even a law degree from Pace can see it…ffs…

Wookie

We can stop saying Roberts sided with the liberal wing. He’s been part of the liberal wing since Obergerfell and the Obamacare “tax” ruling.

GershonNY

+1

Glushtygiz

Ye not sure what gwb was thinking with him

Memere613

Didn’t John Roberts fly on Epstein’s plane?

yaak

Roberts dissented in Obergefell, so that’s not a great example, but I agree with the sentiment for the most part.

Simcha

That’s right

Hillel

Mazal tov! L’chaim to good news on Yom tov!!!

Rich Green

USA. Home of the FREE!!!

GershonNY

WAS Home of the Free!!!

Memere613

Still is and hopefully will stay that way.

Burech

justice for religion!

p

shuva shuva hashem asad mosai vhinachem al avadecha sabeinu babooiker chasdecha uneranena vnismicha yomeinu unerana venismicha oy vnismicha bchol yemiumnu yeral al avadecha

Schneur

It’s about time!!!

#notourcountry

It’s a curse in disguise. So now every time there’s an uptick they’ll just say “Jews who publicly gather by the hundreds 3 times daily are to blame”

Chff
Jake

Sure! Just on time for Thanksgiving & Xmas. That is why nothing happened sooner.

Josh

That if Chief Justice Roberts were to now resign, there’s still enough time for President Trump to nominate and then confirm someone who will uphold religious liberties. 🙂

GershonNY

4 More years should be more then enough time to nominate and then confirm:)

Memere613

There ya go 🙂

trump supporter

RIP kin covidious coumo!

Glushtygiz

What took 8 months ? ?

Deal Guy
Texas Totty

Great line where Justice Gorsuch writes that because a minyan is only 10 men, the governor’s order excludes women from attending synagogue.

FBR

Good one! I need a like button for this comment.

David

To The 5 judges. Put your money where your mouth is.
Now all they have to do is go their favorite house of worship, stay for the entire service, with hundreds of people, keep on doing it and let’s talk in a few month.

FBR

And vote for religious freedom all over again.

Reuven

Not sure what you’re on about. They’re ruling on a case in front of them. Not asked weather they would like to attend Church or not. A Judge doesn’t need to go to place of worship themselves to see that this is unconstitutional…

aj

The problem is that religion (specifically Christianity) tends to be ruled to have more freedom than everything else. Is everything else we do not deserving of freedom? If church goers are allowed to gather, why the heck cant we do concerts? Its MY FREEDOM to do that. So once you open one gate. You better open then all. No social distancing is constitutional according to this ruling.

YoniPDX

It’s “Religious Freedom” not state mandated religion, cause we can see how well that worked for some of our ancestors

Bloopitybloppity

So in order to believe in the right for same-sex marriage one has to marry someone of the same sex? And if someone believes in the right to have a bris to they have to get a bris? Like what are you saying lol.

JR

Everyone is happy go lucky until someone gets hurt (gd forbid). It’s clear where your audience stands on here…

Deal Guy

Correct.
I’ve seen the line of people buying all the “necessities” at Walmart…..

Tzvi

So you’re saying it’s all about the money for PPE, and pandemic related products. Granted people are making lots of money from selling on the fear, but from first hand experience I know the mask works! Congregate in shuls etc, but can compromise to wearing a . Someone that was infected was at my 90 ur old grandparents house, gave it to them and whoever wasn’t wearing a mask.
Thank g-d all are good now, but avoidable hospitalization could have been avoided. Agree with the ruling, and gives Cuomo and Diblasio a black eye

Jk

Yes that large wedding that happened in Williamsburg 3 weeks ago and we are now seeing a major uptick in cases. Oh wait that’s a load of crap. Nothing happened but sure let’s blame the Jews

Chaim

This is great news, but the article is incorrect. They did not rule that Cuomo’s restrictions are unconstitutional. The simply ruled that he can’t enforce the rules until the litigation about whether they are unconstitutional is completed.

Mark

Unfortunately, the virus doesn’t care about the law one way or another. The fact remains that when the virus finds a new host, it uses it to replicate itself. And the way it finds a new host is when people congregate in groups.

And because of the above facts, Cuomo is an idiot. If he truly wants to increase the safety of the people in his state, he should simply say something like “No indoor groups greater than 10, anywhere, anytime”, then the court would not have ruled this way, because it would be a universal rule that doesn’t affect a house of worship any differently than any secular place.

Jk

Arbitrary rules that make no sense based on “science” would get thrown out no matter what, just would have been quicker had he done what u suggested as that would have been completely unconstitutional. And as for the virus spreading Yes that large wedding that happened in Williamsburg 3 weeks ago and we are now seeing a major uptick in cases. Oh wait that’s a load of crap. Nothing happened. It’s amazing how in the tri state area we are in the middle of a pandemic with empty hospitals ‍♂️

James

Ban everything or ban nothing…Govt doesn’t get to decide that religion isn’t important enough but casinos, protests, and bars are

Lazer

Why post a link to the ny times which is biased towards israel?

Ted

What makes you think so?

Chris

Which deal does this pertain to?

Mendy

Only with a paid premium version do you get to choose the content, the free version of this site does not include that feature 😉

YM

@Mendy, your comment should be a disclaimer on the front page of the website. Would probably minimize the amount of complainers about these things..
You gotta love how every time there’s one of these posts there’s always the people that feel entitled to decide what Dan gets to post on his own website which they choose to frequent.

GuyinBo

Credit where credit is due – thanks to the lawyers over at the Becket Fund.

YoLaViajera

I think it’s the wrong decision at the wrong time in history, specifically during a global pandemic. Cuomo’s restrictions on houses of worship are obviously temporary and entirely due to covid-19 and the way this particular virus is transmitted. We’re all having to deal with these restrictions in all walks of life included in secular settings, so why should religious settings that congregate people in closed, indoor spaces be exempt from restrictions? It’s going to translate into more sick and/or dead folks by the end of the year. The vaccine is almost here. People just need to remember this is a marathon, not a spring and we’re almost at the finish line. These restrictions will not go on forever. We will not have to wear masks for years. We will go back to our lives as they were before covid hit. In the grand scheme of things, one year of small sacrifices (mask wearing, physical distancing) is a small thing to ask of humanity.

moses

We are all for full restrictions, but why the shoe store at my corner that handles 3 customers an hour has to close his shop and go out of business when Walmart_Target have hundreds of ppl coming in shopping for clothing and shoes?????????????????
Because they donated enough to Cuomo’s campaign fund?

What\'s good for the goose, is good for the Gander

Oh please. Have you been living under a rock?
Walmart, “protests”, and every liberal gathering is permitted, but prayer is forbidden?
Anyone who is “at risk” should stay home and everyone else should get the damn virus already.

These lockdowns don’t help at all

New Yorker

You would be right if the same rules apply to religious and secular gathering

bob

Protests of BLK don’t transmit the virus?

me

only after 10

EM1

So you’re saying it’s not ok for more than 10 people to be in a room with capacity to hold hundreds of people because it is a house of worship, even though everyone would be wearing a mask anyway, but it’s ok for 50 people to be in a single subway car? Please explain them logic on that one to me? This “pandemic” has become way too political, and though it is dangerous and appropriate caution is needed, it is often taken out of proportion and is ruining our right to live. The government should not be picking and choosing where to place restrictions as they please, especially when it is clearly discriminatory decisions.

Jk

The fact that you think this is temporary is cute. Remember “flatten the curve” 9 months ago. Yes a global pandemic with empty hospitals and a 98% survival rate. Please feel free to stay home in your hazmat suit while I go on living life. More ppl have died from suicide, abuse and overdose then from the pandemic. They are destroying our lives and the lives of future generations with this crap and it’s time for it to end.

Work-for-ur-muny

Someone didn’t get the memo…
Sigh…

Tzedek Tzedek Tirdof

The law of the land has been upheld!

King Paroah

Paroah also made law’s killing baby was the law

Yanky Davis

I’m just waiting to see how the financial compensation lawsuits will play out!

Shoom

Covid takes a holiday!

Donald

I think that it’s far too scary that it was one vote separating the court…

Rob

Excellent point. This should have been 9-0.

Chaim L Javitz

Ditto!

yonah

This case is simply a discussion of the disproportionate level of restriction imposed on houses of worship – i.e. 10 people in a shul that has a legal capacity of 500.

So the court isn’t saying that the government *can’t* restrict houses of worship, they’re saying that the restrictions have to be inline with the level of restrictions that are put in place for other secular venues – i.e. Justice Gorsuch’s line about supermarkets.

Sam

The ruling actually says that restrictions on religious activities are, in these cases, more restrictive than restrictions on secular activities.

It helps to read more than the headline and first sentence, and given many comments above, more should do that.

Bloopitybloppity

Only a temporary injunction until the actual case about whether it is unconstitutional but still good news and bodes well.

EJB

FakeNews. There has been no ruling about the constitutionality of the order.

yy

What’s with all the citations that were given out the last few weeks, are they out the window?

Carl Maltzman

Great! Let’s all get infected. Only 260,00 dead so far . . . C’mon guys, we can do better! One million dead or bust!

ross

It seems funny how you have this bit of news enmeshed amongst the Black Friday Deals: Rockland Upright Luggage Set! Hamilton Beach Kitchen Appliances! Cuomo Restrictions Unconstitutional! Gildan Stretch Socks!
I would think there’s a Black Friday Sale on Supreme Court rulings.

SK

Who wants to take the lead in drafting the ‘get well soon and say Tehillim’ post once these turn into a super-spreader event?

aaz

LOL!!
You do know that in alot of cummunities eveything is back to normal for almost half a year without any “super spreading” (I guess there is such a thing as herd immunity).

Bubba Hubba

From Justice Gorsuch:

“So, at least according to the Governor, it may be unsafe to go to church, but it is always fine to pickup another bottle of wine, shop for a new bike, or spend the afternoon exploring your distal points and meridians. Who knew public health would so perfectly align with secular convenience?”

B”H, we had President Trump the last 4 years.

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