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.”
