‘Take a step back.’ Beshear’s plan to quarantine Easter churchgoers draws fire from GOP.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear is receiving pushback from Republicans about his plan to record the license plate numbers of people who attend church services on Easter and have them quarantined afterward.
“Taking license plates at church? Quarantining someone for being Christian on Easter Sunday? Someone needs to take a step back here,” Sen. Rand Paul tweeted Friday night.
Beshear said Friday afternoon that Kentucky State Police troopers would be collecting the license plate information of people attending “mass gatherings” this weekend. He said local health departments would then notify those people that they need to quarantine at home for 14 days.
“This is the only way that we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill somebody else,” Beshear said. “...What we’re asking you to do is not to harm other people. It’s to love your neighbor as yourself.”
The plan does not apply to drive-in church services, he said.
On Saturday, Beshear said the vast majority of churches in Kentucky are doing the right thing and choosing not to gather. “I’m just doing my best to save lives, and there aren’t easy answers.”
He said nearly 50 cases of COVID-19 and six deaths were traced to a revival in Hopkins County.
While he encouraged Kentuckians to celebrate Easter at home, Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron said in a tweet that he was “deeply concerned that our law enforcement officers are being asked to single out religious services.”
“Directing a uniformed presence at church services to record the identity of worshippers and to force a quarantine, while doing no such thing for the people gathered at retail stores or obtaining an abortion, is the definition of arbitrary,” he said.
The Republican Party of Kentucky also issued a statement Saturday calling on the administration to rethink the plan.
“Governor Beshear’s order for state police to stalk churchgoers and turn their information over to government agents is a blatant overreach,” GOP spokesman Mike Lonergan said in the statement. “We all want to keep working together to fight the coronavirus, but this is the wrong approach. The Governor and his administration should retract this overbearing use of government power and come up with another way to work with churches to discourage in-person gatherings and help faith communities follow the proper CDC guidelines - without such draconian measures.”
U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie also weighed in on Beshear’s action, saying in a Facebook post, “The same week Jews celebrate freedom from bondage and Christians celebrate freedom from death, Governor Beshear is going to be in your church parking lot scanning your license plate.”
Beshear said Friday that he knew of about seven churches that were considering holding in-person services this weekend, but he expected that that number would shrink to about three or four by Saturday.
He said he is personally affected by the ban on in-person worship services. His son had hoped to be baptized on Sunday, but it had to be put on hold because of the coronavirus.
Beshear said attending an in-person worship service is not a test of faith.
“It’s a test of faith that you’re willing to sacrifice to protect your fellow man, your fellow woman, your fellow Kentuckian and your fellow American,” he said.
On Saturday afternoon, Beshear tweeted a video of faith leaders encouraging people to stay at home on Easter Sunday.
Rep. David Hale, R-Wellington, is a pastor at Korea Church of God in Menifee County, which has a congregation of about 200 people.
Hale said they stopped offering in-person services around four weeks ago, but that he plans on starting church services again in a few weeks “using common sense” social distancing.
He said he thought Beshear’s order collecting license plates was a step too far.
“I think this is going far over the edge, that you’re trying to take these measures,” Hale said.
Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles tweeted a statement Saturday afternoon, saying that “most reasonable people, like me, agree with many decisions he has made so far. But this latest step – using police to follow churchgoers - is a step too far.”
Though drive-in services are exempt from the governor’s action, local officials in Louisville have prohibited them. Police will be responding to such services to provide public health information, the Courier-Journal reported.
Sen. Mitch McConnell responded to the move, saying it is a violation of religious freedom, the newspaper reported.
Cameron also issued a statement, saying that he did not think drive-in services should be prohibited, as long as the people attending them comply with social distancing guidelines.
“Religious organizations should not be treated any differently than other entities that are simultaneously conducting drive-through operations, while also abiding by social distancing policies,” Cameron said. “As long as Kentuckians are permitted to drive through liquor stores, restaurants, and other businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic, the law requires that they must also be allowed to participate in drive-in church services, consistent with existing policies to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
A Louisville church has said it plans to file suit against Mayor Greg Fischer over the prohibition, WDRB reported. On Saturday, a judge granted a temporary restraining order that will allow the Louisville church to hold its drive-in style service on Easter, the Courier-Journal reported.
Herald-Leader reporter Daniel Desrochers contributed to this report.
This story was originally published April 11, 2020 at 3:15 PM.
