Three churches have filed a federal lawsuit against the state of California in an attempt to regain their right to sing.
The suit is in response to Governor Newsom's coronavirus restrictions, which ban singing and chanting in places of worship because the acts "present an increased likelihood for transmission of Covid-19 through contaminated exhaled droplets."
But in a lawsuit filed this week, the leaders of Ukiah Calvary Chapel, Fort Bragg Calvary Chapel and River of Life Assembly of God churches say the order is unconstitutional because it unfairly singles out religious services and violates their right to free speech.
Newsom's order came after a study by the CDC that found "the act of singing, itself, might have contributed to transmission through emission of aerosols, which is affected by loudness of vocalization."