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Colorado Court Rules Limits on Church Attendance Unconstitutional

By Rick Moran

A U.S. District Court judge has found some of Colorado’s public health orders that limit attendance at churches to be unconstitutional.

Judge Daniel Domenico found that two state rules governing church-going are more severe for religious institutions than for secular ones and violate congregants’ Constitutional rights to freedom of religion.

Two churches filed a lawsuit against both state and federal authorities in August, alleging public health orders aimed at curbing the spread of the novel coronavirus violated their religious rights. Domenico dismissed most of their claims in a ruling last week but on Thursday determined that the services can go ahead as long as social distancing is observed and other public health rules are followed.

“The Constitution does not allow the State to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurant’s or spa’s,” Domenico wrote in the 44-page order.

The ruling breaks from stances other judges in Colorado have taken on religious freedom challenges to Gov. Jared Polis’s public health orders. The courts have consistently ruled the orders do not violate the U.S. Constitution. The U.S. Supreme Court also took up the issue this year and rejected efforts by a California church to stop that state’s order to shut down religious services.

full story at https://pjmedia.com/news-and-politics/rick-moran/2020/10/21/colorado-court-rules-limits-on-church-attendance-unconstitutional-n1075528

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