House Judiciary Committee advances bill prohibiting Iowa Governor from closing churches

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The Iowa House Judiciary Committee advanced a bill prohibiting the governor from closing, placing a mandate on or otherwise regulating a place or practice of worship for any reason in Iowa. House File 2097’s prohibition includes through the proclamation of a disaster emergency or public health disaster.

Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds ordered churches closed during COVID and also banned spiritual and religious gatherings where more than 10 people would attend.

Democrat State Rep. Ross Wilburn recommended a no vote on the bill because he believes in the importance of having a balance in terms of the practice of religion and public health. Wilburn noted that public health has kept Americans safe and helped extend life back to the discovery of Penicillin.

Wilburn added that he is concerned the governor couldn’t restrict religious practice from a building that may not be safe, using the example of a church in Iowa City that was damaged in a tornado. In addition, he said the bill is too broad because a practice of worship could happen in a park or a community center. Finally, a practice of worship may also include last rites in a hospital.

“It’s too vague, too open for interpretation,” Wilburn said.

Republican State Rep. Bobby Kaufmann said First Amendment rights should never be subjected to who is in power.

“I personally think our governor did a good job during COVID with her closure decisions, however that is exactly why we should be doing this bill right now so that a future governor cannot do things like what happened in Michigan and New York,” Kaufmann said. “I just do not believe that those rights should ever be infringed upon.”

Democrat State Representatives Brian Meyer, Rick Olson, Sami Scheetz, Megan Srinivas and Beth Wessel-Kroeschell joined Wilburn in opposition.

Author: The Iowa Standard