,,iii  #aafth ,,congress  #b;d ,session 
,s4 ,,res4 #hjf  ,,in ,,the ,,senate    
,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states  ,december 
#ah1 #bjbj,mr4 ,scott of ,florida 7for  
himself1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,mr4 ,wicker1    
,mr4 ,boozman1 ,mr4 ,cramer1 ,mr4       
,perdue1 ,mr4 ,rounds1 ,mr4 ,rubio1     
,mrs4 ,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,cotton1 ,mr4    
,hoeven1 ,mr4 ,braun1 ,mrs4 ,loeffler1  
,mr4 ,cruz1 ,mrs4 ,hyde-,smith1 ,mr4    
,lankford1 ,mr4 ,barrasso1 ,mr4 ,paul1  
and ,mr4 ,daines7 submitted the         
following resolution2 which was referred
 to the ,committee on the ,judiciary    
,,resolution  ,defending the free       
exercise of religion4  ,whereas the     
,first ,amendment to the ,constitution  
of the ,united ,states clearly1 plainly1
 and unequivocally states that ,congress
 shall make no law respecting an        
establishment of religion1 or           
prohibiting the free exercise thereof2  
,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 ,states2   
,whereas1 despite the clear prohibition 
against laws infringing upon the free   
exercise of religion1 houses of worship 
and religious organizations have been   
frequent targets of asymmetric          
restrictions by ,state and local        
government officials during the         
coronavirus pandemic2 ,whereas          
irrespective of compliance with mask    
mandates1 social distancing1 and other  
protective measures to limit the spread 
of the coronavirus1 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 religion2 ,whereas1 while houses  
of worship and religious organizations  
are subjected to severe restrictions    
under the guise of limiting the         
transmission of the coronavirus1        

businesses and secular activities enjoy 
substantially more favorable treatment  
by some ,state and local government     
officials1 including-- 7#a7 ,new ,york  
,governor ,andrew ,cuomo1 who severely  
restricted the number of members who    
could enter a church or synagogue in    
color-designated zones1 but imposed no  
size restrictions on essential          
businesses1 like acupuncture facilities1
 hardware stores1 and liquor stores1 and
 permitted other non-essential          
businesses to define their own size     
restrictions2  7#b7 ,north ,carolina    
,governor ,roy ,cooper1 who required    
worship services involving more than #aj
 people to be held outdoors unless a    
church demonstrated doing so would be   
impossible1 but commercial shopping     
centers could allow people into the     
stores without limitation2  7#c7        
,california ,governor ,gavin ,newsom1   
who prohibited or severely limited      
in-person worship services in counties  
with large numbers of coronavirus cases1

 but secular businesses and activities  
such as shopping malls1 swap meets1 and 
card rooms were permitted higher        
attendance2  7#d7 ,new ,jersey ,governor
 ,phil ,murphy1 who prohibited or       
severely restricted indoor services by  
houses of worship because they were not 
deemed essential1 but commercial        
establishments like marijuana           
dispensaries and liquor stores were     
permitted to remain open2  7#e7 ,nevada 
,governor ,steve ,sisolak1 who imposed  
strict numerical attendance caps on     
houses of worship because they were not 
deemed essential1 but allowed casinos   
and amusement parks to operate at       
half-capacity without specific numerical
 limits on people within those          
facilities2 and  7#f7 ,mayor of the     
,district of ,columbia ,muriel ,bowser1 
who prohibited even outdoor religious   
services attended by more than #ajj     
people1 regardless of compliance with   
face-covering and social distancing     
requirements1 but actively encouraged   

and participated in crowded political   
demonstrations attended by thousands of 
individuals2 ,whereas the ,united       
,states ,supreme ,court recently granted
 injunctive relief to #b houses of      
worship in ,new ,york against the       
discriminatory actions by ,new ,york    
,governor ,andrew ,cuomo1 and declared  
even in a pandemic1 the ,constitution   
cannot be put away and forgotten2 and   
,whereas1 for millions of people of the 
,united ,states1 churches1 synagogues1  
and houses of worship are more than just
 buildings1 and the ability to gather   
together in prayer for people of all    
faiths1 creeds1 and beliefs must not be 
diminished or impeded by the whims of   
government officials3 ,now1 therefore1  
be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 affirms  
its support for the rights1 liberties1  
and protections enshrined in the ,united
 ,states ,constitution2 and  7#b7       
commits to vigorously defend the right  
of all people of the ,united ,states to 
engage in the free exercise of religion4