AG Bill Barr has been keeping an eye on with what is going on in Mississippi restricting church services. He does not deny in times of crisis states can restrict church services but only if they restrict other businesses and gatherings. Drive through restaurants are allowed to be open and in that case the car window must be rolled down to get your food and pay for it.
However, they enforced social distancing laws when none was broken during services at Temple Baptist Church in Mississippi. People parked in the lot of the church, kept their windows rolled up while listening to the service on their car radio. As a result they were fined $500 apiece for their alleged crime. AG Bill Barr pointed out that is illegal.
Barr said:
“But even in times of emergency, when reasonable and temporary restrictions are placed on rights, the First Amendment and federal statutory law prohibit discrimination against religious institutions and religious believers. Thus, government may not impose special restrictions on religious activity that do not also apply to similar nonreligious activity. For example, if a government allows movie theaters, restaurants, concert halls, and other comparable places of assembly to remain open and unrestricted, it may not order houses of worship to close, limit their congregation size, or otherwise impede religious gatherings. Religious institutions must not be singled out for special burdens.”
“Today, the Department filed a Statement of Interest in support of a church in Mississippi that allegedly sought to hold parking lot worship services, in which congregants listened to their pastor preach over their car radios, while sitting in their cars in the church parking lot with their windows rolled up. The City of Greenville fined congregants $500 per person for attending these parking lot services – while permitting citizens to attend nearby drive-in restaurants, even with their windows open. The City appears to have thereby singled churches out as the only essential service (as designated by the state of Mississippi) that may not operate despite following all CDC and state recommendations regarding social distancing.”
“The United States Department of Justice will continue to ensure that religious freedom remains protected if any state or local government, in their response to COVID-19, singles out, targets, or discriminates against any house of worship for special restrictions.”
Liberals are like any other dictator. The first things they eliminate from the people is guns and religion.