North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is under fire from Republican lawmakers for his orders restricting the capacity at houses of worship. | Stock Photo
North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is under fire from Republican lawmakers for his orders restricting the capacity at houses of worship. | Stock Photo
North Carolina Senate Republicans alleged there is an unfair bias in Gov. Roy Cooper's executive order restricting the size of worship services.
The North Carolina democratic governor is allowing commercial establishments to open with 50% capacity, but religious services will be limited to 10 people "unless there is a dead body inside the Building," according to a May 12 statement published on Medium.
Churches may also allow more congregants if the service needs more than 10 people to operate, according to Medium. In this case, the church is allowed to have full capacity.
"Gov. Cooper’s absurd state order is unconstitutional on two grounds: it treats churches differently than commercial establishments and it treats some religions differently than others. It’s plainly unconstitutional," Sens. Kathy Harrington (R-Gaston) and Carl Ford (R-Rowan) said in the statement.
Harrington and Ford alleged the governor's order includes bias because more people can gather if it is a funeral and not a regular Sunday service, which restricts freedom of religions, according to the statement.
“Gov. Cooper’s order also has content-based restrictions: The Governor has prevented more than 10 people from meeting in a chapel for a worship service, but he simultaneously allows 50 people to meet in that same chapel in the same pews if the worship service involves a funeral," Harrington and Ford said in their statement. "There is no health and safety distinction between these two gatherings in the same chapel. It is a content-based restriction on the free exercise of religion and it is unconstitutional.”
Church services are also allowed to take place at full capacity if the service is held outdoors, unless "impossible," according to the statement. But several Republican lawmakers asked what is Cooper's definition of "impossible."
"Impossible" was later defined as: "Situations in which particular religious beliefs dictate that some or all of a religious service must be held indoors and that more than 10 persons must be in attendance," according to the statement.
Senate Republicans said this shows North Carolina is restricting which religions can practice freely and which aren't allowed to, according to the statement.
Executive Order 138 allows businesses to operate with 50% capacity, which means one could be allowing dozens of people in, according to Medium. But a church the same size as this business that allows in dozens will be limited to 10 people, according to Medium.
Alerts Sign-up