III 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. RES. 806 

Defending the free exercise of religion. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2020 

Mr. SCOTT of Florida (for himself, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. BOOZMAN, 

Mr. CRAMER, Mr. PERDUE, Mr. ROUNDS, Mr. RUBIO, Mrs. BLACKBURN, 

Mr. COTTON, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. BRAUN, Mrs. LOEFFLER, Mr. CRUZ, 

Mrs. HYDE-SMITH, Mr. LANKFORD, Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. PAUL, and Mr. 

DAINES) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on the Judiciary 

RESOLUTION 

Defending the free exercise of religion. 

Whereas the First Amendment to the Constitution of the 

United States clearly, plainly, and unequivocally states 

that ‘‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise 

thereof’’; 

Whereas the constitutional protection of this bedrock principle of religious liberty was extended to the actions of 

the several States through the Fourteenth Amendment to 

the Constitution of the United States; 

Whereas, despite the clear prohibition against laws infringing 

upon the free exercise of religion, houses of worship and 

religious organizations have been frequent targets of 


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•SRES 806 IS 

asymmetric restrictions by State and local government officials during the coronavirus pandemic; 

Whereas irrespective of compliance with mask mandates, social distancing, and other protective measures to limit the 

spread of the coronavirus, houses of worship and religious organizations have been subjected to size restrictions or outright bans on in-person gatherings which severely infringe upon the right of their members to freely 

exercise their religion; 

Whereas, while houses of worship and religious organizations 

are subjected to severe restrictions under the guise of 

limiting the transmission of the coronavirus, businesses 

and secular activities enjoy substantially more favorable 

treatment by some State and local government officials, 

including— 

(1) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, who severely restricted the number of members who could enter 

a church or synagogue in color-designated zones, but imposed no size restrictions on ‘‘essential’’ businesses, like 

acupuncture facilities, hardware stores, and liquor stores, 

and permitted other ‘‘non-essential’’ businesses to define 

their own size restrictions; 

(2) North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper, who required worship services involving more than 10 people to 

be held outdoors unless a church demonstrated doing so 

would be ‘‘impossible’’, but commercial shopping centers 

could allow people into the stores without limitation; 

(3) California Governor Gavin Newsom, who prohibited or severely limited in-person worship services in 

counties with large numbers of coronavirus cases, but 

secular businesses and activities such as shopping malls, 


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•SRES 806 IS 

swap meets, and card rooms were permitted higher attendance; 

(4) New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who prohibited or severely restricted indoor services by houses of 

worship because they were not deemed ‘‘essential’’, but 

commercial establishments like marijuana dispensaries 

and liquor stores were permitted to remain open; 

(5) Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, who imposed 

strict numerical attendance caps on houses of worship because they were not deemed ‘‘essential’’, but allowed casinos and amusement parks to operate at half-capacity 

without specific numerical limits on people within those 

facilities; and 

(6) Mayor of the District of Columbia Muriel Bowser, who prohibited even outdoor religious services attended by more than 100 people, regardless of compliance with face-covering and social distancing requirements, but actively encouraged and participated in crowded political demonstrations attended by thousands of individuals; 

Whereas the United States Supreme Court recently granted 

injunctive relief to 2 houses of worship in New York 

against the discriminatory actions by New York Governor 

Andrew Cuomo, and declared ‘‘even in a pandemic, the 

Constitution cannot be put away and forgotten’’; and 

Whereas, for millions of people of the United States, churches, synagogues, and houses of worship are more than just 

buildings, and the ability to gather together in prayer for 

people of all faiths, creeds, and beliefs must not be diminished or impeded by the whims of government officials: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 806 IS 

1 (1) affirms its support for the rights, liberties, 

2 and protections enshrined in the United States Con3 stitution; and 

4 (2) commits to vigorously defend the right of all 

5 people of the United States to engage in the free ex6 ercise of religion. 

Æ 


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