FILE – In this May 1, 2018, file photo, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during a news conference in Newark, N.J. Asian-Americans have been divided over affirmative action for decades, long before New York City’s mayor proposed an admissions overhaul to admit more blacks and Latinos into elite city schools currently dominated by Asians. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

I have a feeling this guy has never met a provision of the Constitution that he believes applies to him.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is now threatening to “permanently” close down religious meetings such as gatherings at churches and synagogues. He didn’t mention mosques, because of course he didn’t. Political correctness and all that.

These comments came in response to the question of what will happen to people who choose to worship together during the pandemic.

https://twitter.com/matthewschmitz/status/1244339404753289216

I don’t care how bad the Wuhan virus gets, there’s no legal authority for government officials to permanently shut down worship services. None at all. They can make requests and set guidelines, but it’s a gross violation of the Constitution to shut down the use of private property for religious services. There are some things that are more important than short term measures to fight a health crisis and religious freedom is one of those things.

What this shows is the attitude that Bill de Blasio carries as Mayor of the country’s largest city. He doesn’t even flinch making the suggestion that he’s going to fine churches out of existence and then shutter their buildings via the city bureaucracy. How anyone could ever vote for this person is a total mystery to me.

Churches should absolutely work with local leaders to help manage the current pandemic, and as far as I’ve seen, there’s been pretty much universal participation in those efforts. But no public official should ever utter the threat that they are going to permanently close down religious services over public policy disputes, even dire ones. There is no excuse for that and anyone that finds themselves being targeted by de Blasio should sue him into oblivion.