A federal lawsuit has been filed against Governor Andy Beshear claiming that orders aimed at stopping the spread of COVID-19 violate religious freedom.
The suit was filed on Tuesday by three people who say they received quarantine orders after attending Easter service at a Louisville church. They’re among a group of people who attended an in-person church service in Bullitt this Easter Sunday, and now they’re suing the governor saying some of his restrictions are unconstitutional.
Boone County attorney Robert Neace and active Health and Family Services Secretary Eric Friedlander are also named as defendants in the lawsuit.
The lawsuit claims three plaintiffs with ‘sincerely held religious beliefs,’ and for whom ‘in-person attendance is central to their faith,’ had their religious rights violated on Easter weekend. The lawsuit details how the governor has made restrictions and shut down several businesses across Kentucky, but claims that this is one of the only states where in-person services have been banned.
According to the lawsuit, the plaintiffs attended services at Maryville Baptist Church on April 12 and afterward found a “Quarantine and Prosecution Notice” on their windshields from state police.
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”The bottom line is they are not quarantining they are not experiencing those symptoms whatsoever,” attorney Chris Wiest said. “We don’t think they’ve got it or have gotten it from that service. I mean, anyone at a supermarket could’ve gotten it and they appropriately with that notice fear criminal prosecution.”
The lawyers we talked with say it’s not right that one Kentuckian can walk into a gas station and buy a scratch-off while another can’t practice their faith in church.
The plaintiffs have refused to quarantine, and say neither they nor anyone else at the service displayed symptoms of COVID-19.
Story cited here.
