Skip to content

Condition: Post with Page_List

Listen
Search
Please enter at least 3 characters.

Latest Stories

Santa Clara County's indoor worship ban continues, backed by Appeals Court

Indoor religious services in Santa Clara County are still prohibited, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that determined California's indoor worship ban was unconstitutional.

How is the county's ban still in place?


"So the county's framework has always been fundamentally different from the state," Santa Clara County Counsel James Williams said.

While the state had implemented a ban specific to places of worship, he told KCBS Radio that the county's is much more broad, prohibiting all indoor gatherings.

A group of churches sued to overturn that as well, but last week the county's ban was upheld by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

"So, indoor gatherings, regardless of their type, are prohibited in Santa Clara County," Williams said. "And, what the Ninth Circuit affirmed is that this across the board treatment does not discriminate against religion or places of worship."

Williams said he understands the desire for people to gather and worship indoors, but the ordinance is designed to stop super-spreader events when COVID-19 cases are still relatively high.

"We want to get through the pandemic together, and doing so means we have to do it safely," he added.