[2006alum]

Just going to put this out there:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/politico/status/1263915045651611649?s=20[/tweet]


As for the legal question, until the Supreme Court found in the mid-20th century that the 14th Amendment's "substantive" due process clause incorporated the Bill of Rights against the states, the First Amendment was silent as to what the states can do vis-a-vis their own parishioners. 

Just putting that out there for anyone who wonders why it only references Congress:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Tl;dr the police powers of the state long pre-date the First Amendment's protections of citizens vis-a-vis their states.

[2006alum]

Just going to put this out there:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/politico/status/1263915045651611649?s=20[/tweet]


As for the legal question, until the Supreme Court found in the mid-20th century that the 14th Amendment's "substantive" due process clause incorporated the Bill of Rights against the states, the First Amendment was silent as to what the states can do vis-a-vis their own parishioners. 

Just putting that out there for anyone who wonders why it only references Congress:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof;

Tl;dr the police powers of the state long pre-date the First Amendment's protections of citizens vis-a-vis their states.