The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington.(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images) The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court is set to decide on a religious freedom claim from a south San Diego County church that wants an exemption from California’s COVID-19 rules, which limit large gatherings for services. Lawyers for the South Bay United Pentecostal Church in Chula Vista argue that the 1st Amendment’s protection of the “free exercise” of religion outweighs the state’s power to enforce a quarantine during a pandemic, at least when churches are subjected to stricter limits than other businesses or groups. They said they had the support of President Trump , the U.S. attorneys in California and a growing number of religious conservatives who contend the state’s restrictions on church services go too far. “A fundamental question that goes to the very heart of our constitutional legal order is whether and to what extent state and local officials may lawfully enforce categorical restrictions on public worship,” they said, including “fixed limits” on the number of worshipers. Lawyers for the state said the safety guidelines for churches and other places where people gather are changing, and they urged the high […]
