Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Thursday that a recent Supreme Court decision ruling against his restrictions on houses of worship was “irrelevant.”
The lawsuit was brought about by Catholic and Orthodox Jewish groups, and the court found that Cuomo’s restrictions did indeed violate worshippers’ basic rights.
According to local outlet PIX11, Cuomo considers the lawsuit to now be “irrelevant from any practical impact,” since the areas in question are now open for people to attend Masses and religious services, because they are now “yellow zones” instead of the previous “orange zones”.
It’s worth mentioning that if they go back to being “orange zones”, the Cuomo government will no longer have the authority to shut them back down, due to the Supreme Court ruling.
Under the current rules, they are allowed to open at 50% of the building’s normal capacity.
A 5-4 majority, including newly sworn-in Justice Amy Coney Barrett, decided in favor of the suit. The court put out an unsigned order indicating that, in their opinion, the restrictive measures “single out houses of worship for especially harsh treatment.”
Chief Justice John Roberts and the other three justices dissented.
Story cited here.
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