The Texas House has passed a constitutional amendment that prohibits government officials from closing down houses of worship, a move that brought praise from state Rep. Jeff Leach (R-Allen).
Both Senate Joint Resolution 27 and companion bill, House Joint Resolution 72 deal with not forcing churches or houses of worship to close during public emergencies, such as the ongoing pandemic.
“The House overwhelmingly passed our HJR 72/SJR 27, authored with @KHancock4TX, amending the Texas Constitution to prohibit any government official from ever closing our churches & houses of worship. A huge victory for religious liberty & a win for Texas,” Leach said in a tweet.
SJR 27 proposes “to prohibit this state or a political subdivision of this state from prohibiting or limiting religious services of religious organizations,” the legislation language said. HJR 72 proposes the same thing, but the bill only has 44 GOP sponsors.
State Rep. Terry Canales (D-Edinburg), a Catholic, said his faith outweighed whatever dangers might prompt a shutdown of his church.
“No government, no mayor, no governor, no one, should be able to keep you from going to church,” Canales recently told The Texan
More than 30 Democrats joined Canales in voting for HJR 72.