Trump orders all places of worship to open, declaring them essentialcelebratedrecluse wrote
first amendment protections and the supremacy clause appear to give the federal government the authority to invalidate the state level orders on this particular issue. the way this may actually play out, is perhaps with the DOJ suing states which continue to close the religious buildings. On the face of it, it seems that they have a legal case against the states, which shows how backwards of a country USA is.
Regardless of the legal outcomes of a long and hypothetical court case, this green light from the president is probably all that is needed to open the floodgates, the governments' ability to limit the churches from reopening may be somewhat limited if they all do it simultaneously.
polpotisevil2 wrote
https://www.politico.com/news/2020/05/23/can-trump-order-states-to-open-churches-275170
It's interesting, the DOJ seems to be taking a hard line on the flimsiest arguments against the state/local orders. They even practically argue against themselves:
freely and without undue restrictions imposed by government,
These are most certainly "due" restrictions. They may be able to argue legally in certain states who are leaving churches closed but opening other places, but to argue against churches being closed at all is a flimsy argument seeing little support even in courts. Even the attorney general says:
Terwilliger defended the department efforts, saying they were ramping up in part because measures that might have been justified as the outbreak surged in March are now less justifiable as the virus recedes in most areas. State and local officials need to adjust, he said.
“There’s a difference between now and March 23,” he said. “The strategies and regulations need to take into account that we’re in a different place now."
So, according to him churches can be closed in serious incidents. Now his department's argument is relegated to subjectiveness of the word "serious"
celebratedrecluse wrote
it's going to be something decided by a judge or a jury. people are already levying these arguments in the state courts apparently, and some state level judges are taking the side of the churches and their lawyers so it's going to the state level supreme courts. so it is just a matter of time before this enters the federal court system.
The thing about american courts is, from what i understand, there is a certain subjectivity to the entire process. so it may come down to who has political power, more than what is the spirit of the law or judicial precedent. and the conservatives have many important posts in the judicial system, particularly the federal judiciary and those of the majority of states, locked down for their side. and the conservatives want to reopen
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