Federal Judge Hands Churches Huge Win Against Democrat-Run State's Harsh COVID-19 Restrictions

 Thanks to a District of Colorado federal judge appointed by President Donald Trump, believers in religious liberty — and American freedom in general — celebrated a massive victory this week as the judge struck down both restrictions on religious services and mask mandates.

According to DISRN, Judge Daniel Domenico ruled that limitations on the capacity of churches in the state, along with mandates that required worshipers to wear a mask during the service, were unconstitutional restrictions.

The ruling came in the wake of lawsuits filed by Community Baptist Church in Brighton and Denver Bible Church in Wheat Ridge, who teamed up in August to challenge the state’s harsh treatment of religious gatherings.

The judge resorted to logic and common sense when considering whether or not restrictions and mandates imposed on churches were fair as they compared to how other organizations have been allowed to operate in the state during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Constitution does not allow the State to tell a congregation how large it can be when comparable secular gatherings are not so limited, or to tell a congregation that its reason for wishing to remove facial coverings is less important than a restaurant’s or spa’s,” Domenico wrote.

The judge didn’t strike down other rules imposed on the church, which means churchgoers will still be required to practice social distancing, hand sanitizing and other practices required by the health department’s recommendations to mitigate the virus.

Robert Enyart, pastor of Denver Bible Church, expressed great relief after the federal judge’s ruling.

“We were so thankful that a federal court would recognize our God-given right to worship him, our creator, without the government interfering,” Enyart said to a local reporter.

Not unexpectedly, the Democrat-run state was furious over Domenico’s ruling, claiming that the Trump-appointed judge “took scientific evidence out of context” in his final ruling while claiming that nothing that the state’s health department has ordered during the pandemic discriminates against religious activities.

Democrat Governor Jared Polis and the Colorado Department of Health quickly appealed Domenico’s ruling.

Churches and small businesses were the first groups to be targeted with harsh restrictions in the wake of the spread of COVID-19, which meant certain failure for many of them that will never be able to recover financially.

At some point along the way it was determined — by Democrat leaders — that big box retailers and Black Lives Matter protests were allowed to follow a different set of rules, as if COVID-19 mitigation policies didn’t apply to them for unknown reasons.

It’s inspiring to see that there are church leaders out there with the fortitude to fight for their fellow brothers and sisters against the left’s attempts to weaponize a pandemic to strike a blow against religious freedom, but at the same time, it’s heartbreaking that they’re forced to do so.

We can only pray that more churches have the same success in the near future.