Rep. Peter Schmidt, R-Bonduel, is co-authoring a joint resolution intended to protect church services in the event of another pandemic or other state emergency.
Assembly Joint Resolution 60 will curtail health departments’ abilities to close religious worship centers in the future, as the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic prompted the state to limit gatherings to 10 people or less. The joint resolution passed the Assembly and is expected to be heard next by the Senate.
Unlike a typical bill, the resolution will not go to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. However, if AJR 60 passes both chambers in this session, it will need to be approved a second time during the 2025-26 legislative session, and if that happens, it then goes before the voters to decide whether to amend the state’s constitution.
Schmidt said in an interview Feb. 23 that the pandemic response was not uniform in 2020. He recalled law enforcement in Milwaukee going right into churches and shutting down worship services, while Shawano County left churches alone while enforcing the edict that private businesses needed to shutter at the time.
“This won’t protect private businesses, but AJR 60 will protect places of worship so your churches won’t be shut down,” Schmidt said.
He added that AJR 60 only pertains to worship services. Anything else affiliated with a church, like food pantries, soup kitchens or other special events, would still be subject to health department emergency orders, according to Schmidt.
“There’s such a push for the government to push out religion, push it right out of the public square,” Schmidt said. “This AJR, to me, was the most important thing on the calendar yesterday (Feb. 22) because of freedom of religion.”
Schmidt noted that the pandemic has caused a mental health crisis because people were isolated and unable to gather with others, even to pray, and because freedom of religion is something protected in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, he feels it’s important to bolster the Wisconsin constitution’s religious freedoms, as well.
“The pastors, your religious and spiritual leaders, they’re there to help you and guide you through life journeys,” Schmidt said. “The government’s never going to tell you the right things to do. The government wants you to live in fear and be subject to the rules for you, but not for me.”
Schmidt noted that his church, St. Paul Lutheran in Bonduel, saw attendance plummet when it was open, and it did close to clean and sanitize everything but then eventually reopened. AJR 60 doesn’t prohibit places of worship from closing if needed, but it doesn’t make closing a requirement because of government action, he said.
“I trust the churches more than the government,” Schmidt said.
Nine other states have passed legislation like AJR 60 in the last three years, according to Schmidt, with some of them receiving bipartisan support. Schmidt is not anticipating Wisconsin Democrats to jump on the bandwagon for this one, and he questions how much of an advantage Republicans will have in the next legislative session with the recently redrawn maps that were signed into law.
“The Dems look at that as the public health department, they should have the ability to shut it down still,” Schmidt said. “The Dems look at public health as a collective right, not an individual right, so their mindset is ‘I have the right to be in a healthy environment,’ so that’s a negative.”
Schmidt added that if a healthy environment was something that could be guaranteed, Wisconsin would have stricter air standards, along with limits on any vehicle with a motor, including airplanes.
“Everyone would be horse and buggy,” Schmidt said.
There’s also pushback from the far-right members of the legislature, according to Schmidt, as those members claim keeping churches open in an emergency would welcome terrorists to come in and attack churches, synagogues and other places of worship.
lpulaski@newmedia-wi.com
AJR 60 advocates for church freedoms
