Kansas legislature strikes down governor's directive limiting size of religious gatherings

https://thehill.com/homenews/state-watch/491887-kansas-legislature-strikes-down-governors-directive-limiting-size-of

By Zack Budryk - 04/08/20 06:18 PM EDT


Kansas’s Republican-led legislature voted Wednesday to rescind Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s coronavirus-related order capping religious assemblies at 10 people the week of Passover and Easter.

•••••

Lawmakers voted along party lines to strike down the order Wednesday

•••••

Richard Levy, a constitutional law professor at the University of Kansas, told The Wichita Eagle that precedent was likely on Kelly’s side, saying the Supreme Court has held laws that do not burden specific religions are generally considered valid.

“If it’s possible to document that small religious gatherings had led to the spread of the coronavirus in a way that other gatherings have not, then there is a chance that the court would say singling out religious gatherings satisfies even strict scrutiny,” Levy said. In such cases, “it’s not about suppressing religion. It’s about the realities of the coronavirus.”

•••••