Arkansas law: Governor can only close churches if all other organizations are closed too

by Karen Faulkner, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Arkansas has passed a new law that permits the governor to impose healthy and safety restrictions on churches, but only if those restrictions are applicable to all organizations and businesses, Christian Headlines reports.

The new law applies to emergency situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, during which churches in many states were ordered to close or be subject to capacity limits and other restrictions.

Passing into law last week, Bill HB 1211 was approved with overwhelming majorities in the state House and Senate, Christian Headlines reports. Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, said he would allow the bill to become law without signing it.

Under the new legislation, the governor “shall not enforce a health, safety, or occupancy requirement” that “imposes a substantial burden on a religious organization” unless the governor “demonstrates that applying the requirement to the religious organization is essential to further a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of furthering the compelling governmental interest.”

Concerning the importance of houses of worship, the Arkansas state legislature had found that religion “provides extensive benefits to the country by meeting the spiritual needs of the populace and by supporting vital social needs, including without limitation social services, health care, and economic activity.”

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