Senators Back Lawsuit Against D.C. Limits on Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s Outdoor Services

More than 30 U.S. senators have joined a lawsuit against coronavirus restrictions placed on a Washington, D.C., Baptist church by the city’s mayor, according to a report.

Mayor Muriel Bowser, who drew national attention by ordering the words “Black Lives Matter” painted in the street outside an Episcopal church near the White House that President Trump visited in June, has barred Capitol Hill Baptist Church, on A Street, from holding outdoor services in the city. The city cited efforts to slow the spread of the virus.

Earlier this month, the Department of Justice sided with the church. It claimed the church was being blocked from outdoor worship even though the city had allowed other outdoor gatherings, such as peaceful protests. In a brief, the U.S. government argued that “While a local government has significant discretion to decide what measures to adapt to meet a public health threat, the Free Exercise Clause of the Constitution requires that, whatever level of restriction it adopts, government must treat religious gatherings the same as comparable nonreligious gatherings.”

On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., posted on Twitter that he was joining Senate colleagues in supporting an amicus brief in the case, filed by U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. Scott wrote that “The Mayor’s selectiveness in determining which gatherings are permitted is unacceptable & violates the First Amendment & the Religious Freedom restoration Act.” In his own announcement, Wicker said the church was “fighting for fair treatment in our nation’s capital.”

According to the report, the church wanted its full 850-member congregation to be able to attend outdoor services. It has been prohibited from doing so because of the mayor’s limit of 100 people for outdoor gatherings. The Justice Department noted that protests in the city have sometimes drawn thousands of people and were held without the same restriction. Treating comparable gatherings alike is a matter of fair dealing (Proverbs 18:17).

The amicus brief was signed by Wicker and 33 other Republican senators: Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, Pat Roberts of Kansas, Mike Enzi of Wyoming, John Cornyn of Texas, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, John Thune of South Dakota, John Barrasso of Wyoming, James E. Risch of Idaho, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Jerry Moran of Kansas, John Boozman of Arkansas, John Hoeven of North Dakota, Marco Rubio of Florida, Rand Paul of Kentucky, Tim Scott of South Carolina, Ted Cruz of Texas, Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, James Lankford of Oklahoma, Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Steve Daines of Montana, David Perdue of Georgia, Thom Tillis of North Carolina, Ben Sasse of Nebraska, John Kennedy of Louisiana, Cindy Hyde-Smith of Mississippi, Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, Kevin Cramer of North Dakota, Mitt Romney of Utah, Mike Braun of Indiana, Josh Hawley of Missouri, Rick Scott of Florida, and Kelly Loeffler of Georgia.

Source: Read the original report