Three northern California churches have gone to federal court to challenge the state’s ban on singing and chanting in houses of worship, arguing that it unfairly singles out religious services while ignoring protests against police brutality.
Three northern California churches have gone to federal court to challenge the state’s ban on singing and chanting in houses of worship, arguing that it unfairly singles out religious services while ignoring protests against police brutality.
Gov. Gavin Newsom issued the ban earlier this month in an attempt to curb the spread of the coronavirus, with state health officials noting that singing and chanting “present an increased likelihood for transmission of Covid-19 through contaminated exhaled droplets.”
The suit was filed Wednesday in the Eastern District of California by Calvary Chapel in Ukiah, Calvary Chapel in Fort Bragg, and River of Life Assembly of GodChurch in Oroville on grounds the ban violates constitutional rights to freedom of speech and religion.
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The suit said Newsom refused to apply the restrictions on gatherings to protesters against police brutality.
