WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Rick Scott led his colleagues in a resolution defending the First Amendment to the United States Constitution – the right to freely exercise one’s religion. This resolution was also sponsored by Senators Tillis, Wicker, Boozman, Cramer, Perdue, Rounds, Rubio, Blackburn, Cotton, Hoeven, Braun, Loeffler, Cruz, Hyde-Smith and Lankford. It is supported by the Family Research Council and Alliance Defending Freedom.

Senator Rick Scott said, “Religious liberty is our first freedom, and there is no pandemic exception to the First Amendment. Unfortunately, liberal governors and mayors across the country have used their emergency powers as a sword to go after churches, synagogues, mosques and other houses of worship, instead of a shield to protect the public health. For months, they have argued that these houses of worship should not meet and congregants could not sing, while they applaud massive political protests. That’s wrong. Today, my colleagues and I stand together against these misguided and hypocritical attempts to target religious institutions. We will always fight for the religious liberty of all Americans.”

Travis S. Weber, J.D., LL.M., Family Research Council Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs and Director of the Center for Religious Liberty, said, “FRC supports this resolution which is, sadly, necessary. Religious liberty has been coming under increasing attack in recent years and this trend is unfortunately continuing to happen during the COVID pandemic. As this resolution points out, houses of worship are being shuttered even though most are taking every health precaution. Yet they are needed now more than ever, as they bring hope and help to their communities in tangible ways. They should not be treated as second-class institutions when they are so clearly central to the protections of our first freedom!”

Ryan Tucker, Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel and Director of the Center for Christian Ministries, said, “The government has a duty to respect the First Amendment, so it can’t single out places of worship for harsher treatment than secular activities. Churches can’t be treated worse than casinos, movie theaters and liquor stores. Such disparate treatment is both illogical and unconstitutional. We are grateful for the Senators who have stood strong and voiced their support for religious freedom.”

See the resolution HERE.