Jay Inslee, the governor of Washington, recently amended his
March order banning religious gatherings of any size to allow
home-based Bible study and prayer. Of course, he only did this after being sued
by Joshua Freed, the First Liberty Institute and the North Creek Law Firm.
Freed demanded to be permitted to hold one-on-one
Bible study meetings outdoors at his own home during the coronavirus
crisis. Inslee’s order of March 23 prohibited all religious gatherings
regardless of size, though it did allow for “essential” businesses such as cannabis
retailers to remain open.
First
Liberty’s executive general counsel, Hiram Sasser, told Fox News that the
governor twice declined to respond to their requests seeking a one-on-one Bible
study exemption before his lawyers eventually conceded in open court. Mark Lamb, owner and founder of North Creek
Law, gave a statement to Fox News saying, "We are grateful that, in this
challenging time for our country, Gov. Inslee was willing to concede that
the ban does not apply to Joshua Freed’s home Bible study."
I would have used a term other
than “grateful” to describe a governor “allowing” me to discuss the Bible with
one other person on my own property, regardless of the situation, but I
guess I’m a bit “old school” in my outlook.
Freed (quite the coincidental
last name in this case) only wished to hold a single meeting a day and said he
would follow all guidelines and recommendations put out by the Centers for Thought
Disease Control and Prevention, including wearing a mask and gloves and keeping
a minimum of six feet from his study partner.
In return for his largess in
allowing Freed to gather with one other person to consider God’s word, the
governor did ask Freed to wear only red apparel and stand on one leg during the
entire session. And cluck like a chicken every five minutes.
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