Federal judge upholds New Mexico governor’s order banning mass gatherings at churches

ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico -- A federal judge on Friday rejected a mega- church's request to throw out Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's ban on mass gatherings in places of worship, KOB-TV reported.

On the day before Easter, the governor added places of worship to her emergency health order, which bans gatherings of groups of five or more people.

In the federal lawsuit, Legacy Church of Albuquerque argued that the order violates the First Amendment right to freedom of religion.

But the state pointed out that other churches were able to abide by the order, and added that Legacy Church did not have the right to expose the community to possible disease.

The judge wrote in his decision that the governor's order didn't single out churches and agreed that it's in the public interest to prevent the spread of disease.