California Governor Gavin Newsom's political future is yet to be decided as the recall effort against him mounts, but he's already a loser when it comes to his COVID restrictions surviving review by the United States Supreme Court.
Newsom's disregard for the rights of his fellow citizens amid the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic set up a series of legal showdowns that saw California's governor lose five times in recent months when his restrictive limitations were struck down by SCOTUS.
Three of those five losses came at the hands of one group: the Center for American Liberty.
"These wins have been in the context of religious liberty," explained Mark Trammell, executive director and general counsel at the Center for American Liberty. "The free exercise of religion is a fundamental right. It speaks directly to the dignity of all persons."
When the Center for American Liberty challenged COVID restrictions in South Bay United Pentecostal Church v. Newsom and Gish v. Newsom, the Supreme Court ruled against California's chief executive.
It isn't an impossible task to follow science and protect citizens' health without trampling their God-given rights—just look at Governor DeSantis and how he's piloted Florida through the pandemic. Newsom, who didn't seem to get the message, continued his discriminatory actions despite repeated admonishment from the Supreme Court.
That all changed after his most recent legal defeat. Late last week, the Supreme Court handed the Center for American Liberty another victory in Tandon v. Newsom, completing the group's hat trick against California's governor. Trammell was bullish on the message Newsom's losing record at SCOTUS telegraphs to other states:
"It is a very big deal and I think it sends a clear signal to governors across the country that the Court will not tolerate restrictions on the free exercise of religion."
Newsom's flaws as a leader during COVID were abundantly clear after being outed for enjoying a royally hypocritical dinner at the French Laundry while he kept Californians and their businesses locked down. But Newsom's disregard for the rights of his citizens affected more than dining options. "It takes an incredible amount of hubris and a complete disregard for the Constitution to burden religious expression in one’s own home; but that didn’t stop Gavin Newsom who for a year leveraged the full force of the state government to discriminate against the faith community," remarked Trammell.
Apparently unwilling to stay on the legal defeat hamster wheel for another rotation, Governor Newsom is now, finally, backing down.
On Monday, it was announced that he would lift all restrictions on religious gatherings, citing "recent judicial rulings," according to California's online COVID guidance portal.
Harmeet Dhillon, founder and CEO of the Center for American Liberty called Newsom's decision "incredibly gratifying" in a statement before adding that her group "will not relent until we have sufficient precedent from the courts prohibiting this civil liberties crisis from ever happening again."
Dhillon, who is a frequent guest on cable news and once represented my previous employer in a successful free speech lawsuit against UC Berkeley, is not herself a member of the religious entities she advocated for in court. Born in India and raised in a devout Sikh family, Dhillon's legal defense of the liberty of others offers a stark contrast to Newsom and his evident belief in 'freedom for me but not for thee.'