Kentucky woman wants to see family. She sues over Beshear COVID-19 travel restrictions
A northern Kentucky woman alleges that Gov. Andy Beshear’s recent executive order restricting travel to and from other states is a violation of her constitutional rights that prevents her from seeing friends and family in Ohio.
Campbell County resident Allison S. Alessandro and her legal team assert that Beshear’s order restricts her from visiting Ohio “for the purpose of associating at a safe distance with her friends and family who reside there,” and from visiting Ohio’s “parks and other public areas in a manner permitted under current Ohio and local government law while maintaining social distancing recommendations,” according to a suit filed Thursday in federal court in Covington.
The suit, which names Beshear and Attorney General Daniel Cameron as defendants, seeks an injunction against Beshear’s order which bars out-of-state travel except for those Kentuckians who travel for work; buying groceries or other essential items; seeking health care; taking care of a loved one; or complying with a court order.
Gov. Andy Beshear said Friday of the lawsuit, “I’m not worried about it, and we will win it.”
Attorney general spokesperson Elizabeth Kuhn said, “The attorney general received the lawsuit late yesterday and is evaluating the claims that Governor Beshear’s order violates the Constitution.”
The order is enforceable by police, and those who travel out-of-state, outside of those exceptions, are subject to a 14-day self-quarantine upon their return, Beshear said earlier this week. Beshear noted that the states surrounding Kentucky had significantly more confirmed cases of COVID-19. The order could limit the potential for a resident to be exposed out of state and bring the virus back to Kentucky, he said.
The lawsuit calls the order “unpredecented and illegal” and asks that a court will rule it unconstitutional. Citing previous case law and the Fourth and 15th amendments, the lawsuit argues that interstate travel is a constitutional right.
“I’m disappointed that our elected officials are so comfortable throwing away our individual liberties – our constitutional rights – simply because they deem it appropriate during these trying times,” wrote Brian O’Connor, one of Alessandro’s lawyers, in a statement to the Herald-Leader.
Gov. Mike DeWine of Ohio, announced Thursday that he was extending a stay-at-home order for the state and that out-of-state travelers entering Ohio will be asked to quarantine for 14 days starting Monday. As of Thursday, Ohio had more than 2,900 confirmed cases — with more than 175 of those cases in the same county as Cincinnati.
O’Connor, who is an Ohio resident, wrote in an email that DeWine’s order affects him and Alessandro as neither of them can “cross the Kentucky/Ohio border to meet in person (at a safe distance), without being subjected to a 2-week quarantine.”
“(T)here are a host of other constitutional issues involved when an official treats residents of other states differently than residents of his or her own state,” O’Connor wrote.
In Texas, the Department of Public Safety is enforcing an order that requires travelers driving into the state from hard-hit Louisiana and flying in from New York, New Jersey or Connecticut to observe a 14-day quarantine. Travelers who don’t quarantine face a $1,000 fine or up to 180 days in jail.
This story was originally published April 3, 2020 at 2:38 PM.