GOP candidate withdraws motion challenging Inslee order
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A Republican candidate for governor has withdrawn his request for a court order allowing him to conduct one-on-one prayer sessions in his backyard after state attorneys assured him the conduct wasn't prohibited by Gov. Jay Inslee's stay-home order.
Candidate Joshua Freed sued Inslee in U.S. District Court, calling Inslee’s stay-home order against COVID-19 unconstitutional because it bars gatherings of any size, including spiritual gatherings, while allowing certain other activities, such as marijuana sales, to proceed.
However, Inslee's proclamation includes an exemption for religious counseling, and during a court hearing Friday attorneys with the Attorney General's Office said Freed's stated goal of hosting one-on-one, socially distanced, backyard prayer sessions seemed to fall under that exemption.
After the attorney general’s office assured Freed during the hearing that there was no chance he would face enforcement, Freed’s attorneys agreed to drop their request for the court order.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/gop-candidate-withdraws-motion-challenging-inslee-order/ar-BB13Oiqp?ocid=hplocalnews
= new reply since forum marked as read
