Via The Washington Post, December 23, 2020
“Officials at the Museum of the Bible said Wednesday they are considering suing D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) over the city’s latest round of coronavirus restrictions, saying they prevent the museum’s employees from exercising their religious freedom and its visitors from possibly having a religious experience.
The plan to pursue legal action comes after an order by Bowser on Dec. 18 said museums and indoor dining in the District must close from Dec. 23 to Jan. 15, 2021, which includes the season of Advent and Christmas, a normally busy time for the museum. In a letter to Bowser, museum officials argue that the city is violating the Religious Freedom Restoration Act by not allowing the museum to exercise religion.
The museum will close Wednesday to comply with the mayor’s orders while it explores legal options. Officials for the museum, which has nearly 400,000 square feet of space spread over seven floors, are asking that Bowser’s previous restrictions be reinstated, where 250 socially distanced people could be on one floor at a time.”
