US says California order discriminates against churches

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The head of the federal Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division told Gov. Gavin Newsom Tuesday that his plan to reopen California discriminates against churches.

In a letter to the governor, Eric S. Dreiband said that despite a coronavirus pandemic “that is unprecedented in our lifetimes,” Newsom should allow some in-person worship under the current second phase of his four-part reopening plan.

Restaurants and other secular businesses are being allowed to reopen under social distancing guidelines but not churches, which are limited to online and similar services.

That places an “unfair burden” on them that violates civil rights protections through “unequal treatment of faith communities,” the letter said.

“Simply put, there is no pandemic exception to the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights,” said the letter.

A message seeking comment from the governor’s office wasn’t immediately returned.

Newsom this week further relaxed guidelines for counties to reopen more businesses closed under his March stay-at-home order that barred nonessential businesses to slow the spread of the coronavirus. He said churches and other religious institutions could start welcoming back the faithful for in-person services in the coming weeks.

A few churches have defied the ban on such services and sued to reopen, so far unsuccessfully.

Two Republican state lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a resolution to curtail the governor’s emergency powers.

Assemblymember Kevin Kiley said the extraordinary powers are for a governor “under conditions of extreme peril” and “were not meant to give a single person the ability to remake all of California law indefinitely.”

San Diego County supervisors voted Tuesday to ask the state to allow...