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WASHINGTON: New York Governor Andrew Cuomo on Thursday (Nov. 26) dismissed as “irrelevant” a US Supreme Court decision blocking coronavirus restrictions on religious gatherings, saying it related to specific areas that were no longer considered high risk.
The court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority, voted 5-4 Wednesday night in favor of requests by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn and two Orthodox Jewish congregations for a court order to block enforcement of the restrictions. .
The order marked one of the first consequential actions in court involving President Donald Trump’s new appointee, Conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who cast a decisive vote in favor of the religious groups. Conservative Chief Justice John Roberts disagreed along with the three court liberals.
“HAPPY THANKSGIVING DAY!” Trump tweeted Thursday in response to the decision.
The case stemmed from the Oct. 6 decision by Cuomo, a Democrat, to close nonessential businesses in specific areas where infections have skyrocketed, including some Brooklyn neighborhoods.
New York has categorized the areas where coronavirus infections are increasing in severity as yellow, orange, or red. Under Cuomo’s restrictions, houses of worship in red zones could remain open at 25 percent capacity for up to 10 people.
In a call with reporters Thursday, Cuomo said the high court ruling would have no impact on the state’s virus control efforts because the red zone status for the area in question had expired last week.
“It is irrelevant of any practical impact because the area they were talking about has already been debatable,” the governor said. “I think this was really an opportunity for the court to express its philosophy and policy.”
He also noted that the decision, which is now going to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, is not final and does not appear to affect New York state rules for mass gatherings.
Houses of worship argued that state-imposed limits violated religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment to the United States Constitution, and that their facilities were targeted by stricter restrictions than essential businesses such as grocery stores.
The Orthodox congregations Agudath Israel of Kew Garden Hills and Agudath Israel of Madison, as well as the national Orthodox Jewish group Agudath Israel of America, requested the injunction.
A federal judge in Brooklyn rejected separate requests made by the religious groups on October 9. The New York City-based Second Circuit rejected emergency requests submitted by both groups of challengers on November 9.
In two cases earlier this year, the court, by 5-4 votes, rejected similar requests from churches in Nevada and California. Those votes occurred before the death of Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and saw her and the three other liberal members of the court joined by Roberts in the majority.
Cuomo urged New Yorkers to “mask themselves” in a tweet Thursday, adding that nearly 7,000 people in the state had tested positive the day before, while 67 died as a result of the virus.
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