Trump says Church essential, open them up

“It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes.” - Psalm‬ ‭118:8-9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

 

While I agree with the President that churches should be open, this is not a federal government issue. Freedom of religion is already protected in the Constitution.

 

Yep. Tenth amendment. Trump cannot force governors to allow church services. Of course, churches can meet anytime, even if there are consequences. As the hymn says,

“Must I be carried to the skies
On flow’ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?”

 

We are free to assemble and worship per the First Amendment!
And no state can undo the rights expressed in the amendments/Bill of Rights!

 

States cannot undo the Bill of Rights, as we still have same rights, Covid or not!

 

The federal constitution only applies to the federal government. You have to look to your state’s constitution for non-interference with worship from your state government. I would be surprised if it wasn’t in there.

 

To clarify my position, I do not agree with the use of the Incorporation Doctrine applied by some people to the 14th Amendment. To use this doctrine because one wants to achieve a certain result through federal power also opens the door to the use of the doctrine to achieve results through federal power that I imagine most of us posting in this section of this message board disagree with, e.g., nationwide legalization of abortion and same-sex marriage. Using this doctrine simply results in being hoisted on one’s own petard. I believe we should keep the federal government limited and work through state and local governments to achieve political goals. It is much safer for our liberties overall. It is much easier to move to a different state than to a different country, if one thinks his liberties are being trampled upon by government.

 

Do not the Bill of rights trump state laws then?

 

No, unless you agree with the folks who think that the 14th amendment made that so and thus meant that abortion and same-sex marriage could be made national policy. I do not agree with those folks.

 

“Despite orthodox legal theory, history proves that incorporation of the Bill of Rights against the states was not intended by the 14th Amendment, and in the contemporary federal judges most often use the theory as an excuse to meddle with the internal affairs of the states. In effect, the incorporation doctrine allows federal judges to rule by personal preference rather than original intent. By overriding the independent will of the states, incorporation has effectively transformed the federal judiciary into an oligarchy.”

Antonin Scalia and the Incorporation Doctrine | | Tenth Amendment Center

 

Before granting that the premise is correct, I would like to know precisely where and how the “privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States” are delineated.