Thursday, November 19, 2020
Religious groups take New York's house of worship limits to U.S. Supreme Court
Two religious organizations have filed emergency applications asking the U.S. Supreme Court to bar enforcement of New York's COVID-19 limits on attendance at houses of worship.
Agudath Israel of America, an umbrella organization representing affiliated Orthodox Jewish congregations across the nation, and two Orthodox congregations in New York City filed an emergency application on Monday. The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Brooklyn filed its application on Thursday.
Both argue that Gov Andrew Cuomo's Oct. 6 executive order restricting attendance for houses of worship is an unconstitutional restriction on freedom of worship.
Agudath also argues that Cuomo targeted Orthodox Jews, and that the restrictions are especially onerous as they cannot drive on the Sabbath to worship in synagogues without the strict attendance limits.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, representing Cuomo, has until Friday to respond to Agudath's filing.
In a response to the Archdiocese's application, filed Wednesday, James said Cuomo's measure targeted not religion, but situations conducive to the virus spreading, "namely those in which persons tend to gather closely for an extended period of time."
The larger the gathering, the more likely it is that someone there has COVID-19; and the longer the gathering lasts, the more likely it is that they will transmit the virus to others, James argued. While houses of worship are strictly limited, the Attorney General wrote, comparable secular gatherings such as concerts are prohibited entirely.
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