A Peroni float rides by St.Peter and Paul Church during the Italian Heritage parade, in San Francisco, California, on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. But by a 6-3 vote , the court ordered California to lift the prohibition on indoor worship that Newsom imposed on nearly all counties in the state. The state can limit indoor attendance to 25% of building capacity in those counties, the same standard that applies to grocery stores, but violates the rights of religious institutions and their worshipers by banning indoor services, the court said. “We appear to have a state playing favorites during a pandemic,” Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote in one of several opinions for the majority. He said California “obviously targets religion for differential treatment.” Gorsuch also criticized the ban on singing and chanting because it does not apply to the entertainment industry. Justices Clarence Thomas and Gorsuch voted to lift that ban as well, while Justice Samuel Alito said the state should have another 30 days to justify it. State officials say entertainment companies have agreed to conduct COVID-19 tests before allowing any indoor singing. Newsom’s ban on indoor worship services had been upheld last month by a federal appeals court. The […]
