The Kansas Supreme Court made the right decision Saturday by upholding Gov. Laura Kelly’s order limiting church attendance in the state.
The decision will protect the health and safety of Kansans.
The controversy began Tuesday when Kelly issued an order prohibiting churches from holding services with more than 10 congregants. It was a difficult decision but was the right thing to do. At least four coronavirus “clusters” have been traced to crowded religious services and events in Kansas.
On Wednesday, all five Republicans on the state’s Legislative Coordinating Council voted to overturn the governor’s order, a decision Kelly called “shockingly irresponsible.” She asked the state Supreme Court to nullify the council’s 5-2 vote and reinstate her ban on large church gatherings.
“Lives are on the line, clearly,” Kelly’s counsel, Clay Britton, told the judges during Saturday’s oral arguments in her lawsuit against the Legislative Coordinating Council.
The court responded late Saturday — just hours before Easter — on very narrow grounds, neutralizing the legislative resolution that gave the Legislative Coordinating Council its supposed authority to overturn Kelly’s order. The resolution required another body, the State Finance Council, to act first, the court said.
“The State Finance Council must have acted upon the Governor’s request for an extension of the emergency declaration — before the LCC can act on behalf of the Legislature,” it said.
The State Finance Council includes the governor and legislative leaders from both parties.
The opinion leaves many of the central issues in the case unresolved. As a practical and legal matter, though, Kelly’s order is in full force and effect. Attendance at religious services can be restricted until the emergency ends.
The court did not rule on whether Kelly’s order violated the Constitution, as Republicans have claimed. That was an important and welcome outcome: While the First Amendment is the foundation of liberty, our rights are always subject to reasonable regulation.
“Today’s decision does not decide the religious liberty dimensions of this dispute,” Judge Caleb Stegall wrote in Saturday’s opinion. Kelly’s order did not ban churches from holding services. It simply limited attendance for a short time to help stop the spread of a disease that has taken 56 lives in the state so far.
Kelly’s order did not ban churches from holding services. It simply limited attendance for a short time to help stop the spread of a disease that has taken 56 lives in the state so far. Her order is the least restrictive way of protecting lives and therefore meets constitutional muster.
Even Republicans opposing Kelly’s order largely endorsed the stay-away requirements in it. They simply didn’t want anyone to enforce the order — an absurd straddle that endangered Kansans.
While the court’s decision is welcome news, no one should claim victory in this case. It is not the time to celebrate legal or political outcomes. No one is happy that churches will largely be empty on Easter Sunday, not only in Kansas but in the majority of other states that have restricted access to religious facilities.
