A Thanksgiving Eve decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled against New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s limits on worship, have made Anchorage Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson’s worship limits invalid.
On Wednesday night, the court agreed with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Jewish Orthodox synagogues, and blocked Cuomo’s executive order that restricted attendance at houses of worship.
Earlier on Wednesday, Quinn-Davidson had announced a new lockdown order that goes into effect Dec. 1, severely limiting the sizes of gatherings, while she allowed political and worship gatherings to be only partially exempt.
The attendance for these political or religious events, coming during the holy season for Christians, is limited at 50% capacity in Anchorage, an order that remains in effect for the month of December.
The acting mayor also shut down restaurants, bars, bingo halls, and theaters. Stores and other businesses, including gyms and salons, will be limited to 25% capacity and be able to keep people six feet apart. Salons and spas will no longer be able to provide any services would necessitate the removal of the patron’s mask. In other words, no beard trimming and no esthetician services will be allowed in December in Anchorage.
The Supreme Court, in the New York case, said that Gov. Cuomo was violating the First Amendment when he limited those in “red zones” — areas where the COVID-19 virus outbreak is highest — to have no more than 10 at a worship service. In “orange zones,” the limit is 25 people, and in “yellow zones” the limit is 50 percent of a building’s legal capacity.
Five conservatives on the court agreed with the majority decision: Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. Formerly conservative Chief Justice John Roberts, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan were the dissenting vote.
The Brooklyn diocese took the matter to the Supreme Court on Nov. 12, saying that Cuomo’s order “effectively bars in-person worship at affected churches – a ‘devastating’ and ‘spiritually harmful’ burden on the Catholic community.” The orthodox synagogues followed suit four days later and said they had been targeted by Cuomo.
With New York now prevented from enforcing the order, it appears that Anchorage will also not be able to prevent worshipers from attending church, although churches may have their own established limits. Some churches have closed their doors due to the pandemic, while others have remained open in Anchorage, in defiance of former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’ prior shutdown orders, which he never enforced on churches.
Justice Neil Gorsuch, in writing his own separate opinion on Wednesday, said that even if “the Constitution has taken a holiday during this pandemic, it cannot become a sabbatical.”
Good. Now all we have to do is create religions for each of the businesses affected.
The Supreme Court decision is important in that it didn’t play games with Cuomo. In past, NY would pass a law which when contested before SCOTUS would be canceled by NY making the court case moot only to be able to reinitiate the law after the consideration dropped since no longer valid. SCOTUS ruled against Cuomo and NYC even after NYC “abandoned” the law. This is why Cuomo said the ruling had no value. It did have value in stopping Cuomo and MYC from resurrecting the law in the future.
Oh, and John Roberts is on the hook for something the Left has on him. If Biden becomes Prez he is really their lackey as he can be replaced when outed.
The obvious question is will the unelected acting mayor Grinch ignore the Supremes ruling or will she revise her order?
If she truly cares about the tax base, she’ll completely resind the order. The fear from local small businesses about not surviving is very real. Many owners are in tears over the probability of shutting their doors for good.
Actually (it seems to me), the obvious question is will the citizens of Anchorage comply with her illegal edict or meekly go along with it.
In addition to “concern about the tax base,” this autocratic mayor should be equally concerned about not losing her bar license. The Bar Association takes a very dim view of any attorney who would knowingly blow off and otherwise ignore a Supreme Court decision. Maybe that is a path to removing her from the office that she is abusing?
To All Alaskans,
The way to remove this lock down is in the state supreme court and filing against Dunleavey he alone is the cause of these rouge mandates being perpetrated by these lawless mayors.
Case law and case precedence was set in Michigan against Governor Whitmer in the state supreme court and it will fallow suite here if filed in the state supreme court.
A private investigator/constitutionalist helped write the argument for Kathern Henry in Michigan and has gone threw the Alaska State Constitution front to back and has concluded that the very argument that was ruled on in Michigan 7-0 against Gov. Whitmer will also stand here in Alaska.
Michigan Supreme court ruled “7-0” stating all Whitmer’s mandates are unconstitutional and violations against the peoples civil liberties granted to them by the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights. When Alaska stops being to stupid to be free and gets serious get the business’s together and email me and I will point you in the right direction.
My understanding is SOTUS didn’t say you can’t limit house of worship attendance. It said you can’t limit house of worship attendance more than other activities.
It would be like having different fire codes for gyms vs churches.
I don’t see it as a religious freedom decision and more a decision that weighs fairness over real or perceived health threats. New York can still limit house of worship attendance, but the limits cannot be more than other activities.
edit-I guess some religious freedom tint-decerence because you can still limit attendance to a gym more than say a restaurant unless the gym is a house of worship.
The current limits on religious services (50% capacity of building fire code capacity) are less restrictive than for other businesses so looks to me like the SCOTUS decision will have no standing on Anchorage’s limits on religious gatherings.
A good lawyer though can prove anyone wrong.
Thank you President Trump for doing what it took to get ACB on the court….we are about to see more JUSTICE, from the court now!!!
Amen!
The Tyrant AQD is an unelected po dunk acting mayor in Anchorage, she is supposed to be a lawyer by training but clearly either doesn’t know the laws of the land or else she thinks that she can fool her taxpayers base ….. maybe we need to withhold City Tax payments until she wises up ??
The Luke Warm churches will still obey, because that is what 501c3 Corporations do.
501c3 is a federal tax exemption. the Municipality has no jurisdiction on the 501c3, therefore they can ignore the piss-ant mayor.
So Anchorage’s fake hyphenated-mayor orders restaurants, bars, bingo halls, and theaters closed?
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To proprietors of these places may we suggest having them consecrated and re-opened as places of worship or venues of protest.
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Anchorage’s fake hyphenated-mayor can’t bother one and won’t bother the other.
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Would it be rude to ask whether Anchorage’s fake hyphenated-mayor closed bowling alleys also
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… which leads us to wonder if they might be reopened as Churches of Big Balls.
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Signs… they would need new signs of course so worshippers (and protesters) would know…
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This could work, yes?
Waiting on some Mask NAZI come up to me in Public and try and shame me for not wearing a mask. They will be given the preverbal one finger salute unless they get in my face. Then, there’s no telling what will happen.
Learn to spell before using big words.
1st Amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
14th Amendment, Section. 1: All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
The fake mayor has no legal leg to stand on, and all good and god-fearing Anchoragites should ignore her tyrannical dictates.
Steve, well quoted. What I don’t get it people glossing over this part of the first sentence:
“or the right of the people peaceably to assemble”
If churches are protected by the 1st Amendment, so is our right the assemble. There is no distinction against restaurants, ball games, pubs, nothing. We have the RIGHT to peaceably assemble. Period.
Your question has merit and is correct; there is no distinction.
Suzanne reported on the entire emergency order being illegal since it did not pass the assembly with the required 3/4 vote. Leftist Democrats don’t follow the law anywhere they occupy.
Yes….Let’s do it again Sam, because the last 12 shutdowns were so successful, that you had to have another one, and another one, and another, another, another………. Wake up Anchorage!!
Why does this even have to be said? One vote on the Supreme Court away from having the 1st Amendment destroyed forever. And most people think it’s legitimate as long as an “authority” says so. That’s why the United States is on the brink of destruction.
Why can’t this fake mayor simply be removed from power? This is a tyrant and deserves to be forcibly deposed.
Local churches can’t always rely on the bigger guys to fight their small town battles because of the bigger guys have money for litigations. After Covid 19 the smaller and local churches are going to have make plan how they can organize into affording their own lawyers protect their own rights staying open including the Food and Beverage Hospitality Industry. So their rights aren’t infringed upon again. The idol-worshipers don’t realize when Churches close the Alcohol, drug use, father-less, suicides, adultery acts only increase with the problems already present,As well as closed churches reduces community services the can churches give out to the homeless, addicts, and families because of the amount of tithing regular attendees give from their earnings. Even under Communism countries, the Word of God was never extinguished, it just went under-ground in peoples homes. The State can never get rid of the churches. But, the little churches and little mom and pop businesses can’t rely on forever the big guy, because of they have more money for Lawyers, fighting their own battles.
What you people don’t seem to realize is the decision in Michigan’s State Supreme Court has case law and case precedence that will carry over here in Alaska!!! Get you acts together get together and unite together and drop a line when you come together and I will rove what I have been posting for months now.
Seems that we have 1st amendment censoring right here
COVID will never be over here. It’s no wonder this tiny population has such big numbers. 90% of the people are ignorant, uneducated nincompoops!
In case anyone desires to read the decision:
supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf/20a87_4g15.pdf
Watch as the pendulum shifts back towards freedom and liberty. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is working his plan through the faithful. Keep praying. Romans 8:28. Ephesians 6:12. Galatians 5:22
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