Share
News

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Signs Law That Prohibits Government from Closing Churches

Share

Republican Gov. Greg Abbott signed a law Tuesday banning the government from closing places of worship in Texas.

Texas’s House Bill 1239 prohibits “any elected or appointed officer, employee, or agent of the state” from closing a “building or grounds where religious activities are conducted.”

The newly signed law follows an executive order Abbott issued last year that shut down Texas, including houses of worship.

Abbott later reversed his order and allowed houses of worship to open in April 2020, deeming them essential.

Trending:
Federal Judge Has Bad News for Hunter Biden, Says There's Zero Evidence His Charges Are Politically Motivated

“Closing churches not only eliminated these critical ministries and services, but it violated their religious freedom, guaranteed by our laws and Constitution,” he added.

The night before Thanksgiving, the Supreme Court sided with religious organizations challenging Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s coronavirus restrictions, calling the New York Democrat’s measures “discriminatory” in its injunction for emergency relief.

Cuomo’s restrictions limited the number of people who could attend religious services to 10 in areas where the threat of coronavirus was highest, regardless of a church or synagogue’s capacity.

In areas with slightly less risk, attendance was limited to 25 people.

The Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn had also filed an emergency application against Cuomo in November, writing that Cuomo’s order “expressly singles out ‘houses of worship’ by that name for adverse treatment relative to secular businesses.”

The Supreme Court tossed out an order in December from a Central District of California court that had upheld Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s restrictions on houses of worship in light of the Supreme Court’s ruling on New York.

Abbott did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.

A version of this article appeared on The Daily Caller News Foundation website.

Truth and Accuracy

Submit a Correction →



We are committed to truth and accuracy in all of our journalism. Read our editorial standards.

Tags:
, , , , , ,
Share
Founded by Tucker Carlson, a 25-year veteran of print and broadcast media, and Neil Patel, former chief policy adviser to Vice President Dick Cheney, The Daily Caller News Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit providing original investigative reporting from a team of professional reporters that operates for the public benefit. Photo credit: @DailyCaller on Twitter




Conversation