Restrictions On Religious Gatherings Seen As Unfair By Federal Court

A New York federal appeals court ruled against some of the extreme restrictions put in place by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit blocked the enforcement of an executive order that set limitations on religious gatherings, which in some of the country’s “hot spots” have been capped at 10 or 25 persons depending on that area’s infection rate.

In some of the more high-risk areas known as “red zone” hot spots, Cuomo required all nonessential businesses to halt all in-person workforce and forced restaurants to relegate to takeout and delivery services only.

Houses of worship were also limited to just 10 people, or 25% capacity, whichever happened to be fewer.

According to the plaintiff’s arguments, the restrictions infringed on the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

The court unanimously agreed that the order placed greater unnecessary restrictions on religious gatherings than secular ones.

Several religious groups, including the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and Agudath Israel of America, filled the lawsuit. New York’s Orthodox Jewish community has also protested Cuomo’s restrictions on religious gatherings.

The number of coronavirus cases has spiked all over the country since the holidays causing some of these “red zones” to experience higher infection rates and therefore restrictions have become tighter.