BISMARCK – U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-ND) joined an amicus brief led by Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) supporting Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s lawsuit against Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser, whose order bans outdoor church services of more than 100 people, regardless of social distancing and mask wearing.
“The Mayor’s discrimination against houses of worship rests on a mistaken, and unconstitutional, premise that one particular exercise of free speech—a church’s desire to gather together and worship their God—is subordinate to other First Amendment protected activities,” said the Senators. “This Court should enforce the First Amendment’s promise of free speech for all by issuing a preliminary injunction to prevent the Mayor and the District of Columbia from prohibiting outdoor religious services that adhere to COVID-19 safety protocols.”
Mayor Bowser has permitted and participated in several mass protests in recent months, despite the city’s COVID-19 regulations prohibiting religious gathering of more than 100 individuals outdoors. The senators argue the selective enforcement of DC’s rules violates the church’s First Amendment rights and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
Senators Cramer and Wicker are joined in supporting the lawsuit by Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Jim Inhofe (R-OK), Pat Roberts (R-KS), Mike Enzi (R-WY), John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), John Thune (R-SD), John Barrasso (R-WY), James Risch (R-ID), Roy Blunt (R-MT), Jerry Moran (R-KS), John Boozman (R-AR), John Hoeven (R-ND), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Rand Paul (R-KY), Tim Scott (R-SC), Ted Cruz (R-TX), Bill Cassidy (R-LA), James Lankford (R-OK), Tom Cotton (R-AR), Steve Daines (R-MT), David Perdue (R-GA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Ben Sasse (R-NE), John Kennedy (R-LA), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-MS), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Mitt Romney (R-UT), Mike Braun (R-IN), Josh Hawley (R-MO), Rick Scott (R-FL), and Kelly Loeffler (R-GA).
