For months, California churches have been fighting in court to be allowed to re-open and exercise their religious freedom during the coronavirus crisis. Some are defying state shutdown orders and holding services anyway, while taking safety precautions to help prevent infection and spread.
But while religious freedom, a fundamental right on which America was based, gets pushed to the side, courts are ruling in favor of abortion businesses that kill unborn babies – and now strip clubs.
The Daily Wire reports San Diego Superior Court Judge Joel R. Wohlfeil decided earlier this month that the state cannot force strip clubs to close because it would violate their “constitutionally protected speech.”
Wohlfeil issued a temporary restraining order blocking Gov. Gavin Newsom and San Diego County from closing “live adult entertainment” businesses as part of their COVID-19 restrictions, according to the report.
“… the harm to [the strip clubs] if the Application is denied is greater than the harm to [the government] if the Application is granted,” Wohlfeil wrote in his ruling.
So, while strip clubs stay open and abortion facilities continue to kill unborn babies as usual, California churches still are being forced to either close or open on a severely limited basis. One Santa Clara County church that refused to comply is facing $350,000 in fines, the AP reports.
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“If you’re going to accept that argument that dancing nude is protected speech that’s so significant that it overcomes the government’s interest in regulating its citizens with COVID-19 orders, then obviously the divine worship of God, which is expressly mentioned in the First Amendment, should be held to a higher standard,” said Paul Jonna, an attorney with the Thomas More Society.
The pro-life legal group represents several California churches that are suing the state for violating their religious freedom, according to the report. Jonna told the Daily Wire that they will not give up their fight for Californians’ right to exercise their religious beliefs.
“This is a constitutional travesty that must be immediately rectified,” Jonna said. “In California, churches are being treated worse than strip clubs. The constitutional right to worship God is infinitely more important than any right to entertainment.”
Some areas of California ban singing and playing certain musical instruments at religious gatherings. In April, Mendocino County even issued an order prohibiting more than four individuals from gathering to record or broadcast an online service.
Meanwhile, abortion facilities can continue aborting unborn babies without restriction across California. A few states tried to include abortion facilities in their shutdown orders for non-essential businesses, but the abortion industry sued and won in almost every state. Only Texas was allowed to close abortion facilities in the spring, and that was only temporary.
