Prohibit Governors From Shutting Down Churches!

Tomorrow afternoon, the House Courts of Justice Committee will meet in its traditional last Friday meeting before crossover -- the deadline for each chamber to complete work on bills that originate in their end of Mr. Jefferson’s Capitol. One bill of significant concern on the committee’s docket will be HB 2171, introduced by Delegate Wren Williams (R-9, Stuart), that would prohibit executive action from shutting down places of worship during times of emergency, as former Governor Ralph Northam did during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Contact your delegate and urge a vote FOR HB 2171 to protect churches from executive overreach!

There are no carve outs on our First Amendment rights to worship freely. There certainly is no price on it, either. In recent years, we’ve been told by the elites that the freedom to worship isn’t meant for the public square but confined to actual places of worship. But what we experienced a couple of years was an attempt to restrict even worshiping within their own facilities.

Last year, the House approved this bill on a party line vote, before dying on a tie Senate committee vote. It’s a shame that our basic, fundamental rights enshrined in both the Virginia and U.S. Constitutions, by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, respectively, have become a partisan issue. Given the narrow margin conservatives have in the House, the vote will be close. However, if it does pas the House, it has a real chance in the Senate.