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Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron has said he is suing Gov. Andy Beshear in an effort to keep private religious schools open amid a state order to keep virtual classrooms during the pandemic of coronavirus.
Cameron told “Fox & Friends” on Monday that if it upholds Beshear’s “responsibility to keep people safe,” the state must “safeguard” religious freedoms and protect First Amendment rights.
“And so when you tell people who send [students] to schools affiliated with a religion, which is an act of worship in itself, that they cannot go to school, it violates the rights of the First Amendment, ”he continued.
“You have to have a delicate balance in terms of personal security and respect for the constitutional rights of our citizens,” Cameron said. “What he [Beshear] has repeatedly violated the free exercise of the First Amendment religion here in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
He added that his “responsibility as head of legal affairs here in the Commonwealth is to defend our constitutional rights”, citing his reasoning for suing the governor.
Last week, an emergency hearing took place after Cameron and the First Liberty Institute filed a petition seeking a temporary restraining order on Beshear. In the petition, Cameron argued that Beshear’s latest decree violated the constitutional freedoms of Danville Christian Academy and other religious schools.
Beshear’s executive order, which was issued earlier this month, said the state was “experiencing a potentially catastrophic surge in COVID-19 cases” and Kentucky law gave it the power to shut down all schools public and private for grades K-12.
KENTUCKY AG FILES RESTRICTION ORDER AGAINST GOVERNOR TO BLOCK CLOSURE OF RELIGIOUS SCHOOL
Speaking on CNN on Tuesday, Beshear said, “When it comes to schools, we treat everyone the same, asking everyone to share in this sacrifice.
“These same people have taken us to court every time we tried to do something to stop Covid-19,” he added. “Right now, we can all work on the solution … or some of us may try to ditch the steps we take and the result is additional loss of life that we can avoid.”
On Sunday, a panel of three Circuit Court judges sided with Cameron in his lawsuit to keep classrooms at religious schools open amid the coronavirus pandemic, the Courier Journal reported.
“Over 1,500 parents have joined us in this litigation. We have had over 10 schools, schools affiliated with Christians, who have also joined us in this litigation, ”Cameron noted Monday.
“We won in the Federal District Court, which said… it was appropriate to issue a statewide injunction because it violated First Amendment rights,” he continued. “A panel of the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals disagreed and suspended this injunction and so we are now ready to send our case to the Supreme Court.”
He went on to say, “We will be applying for a Supreme Court review today, hopefully.
The trial was just one in a series across the country that raised questions about the extent to which authorities could curtail constitutional freedoms when they declared a public health crisis. Other jurisdictions like New York City have also announced closures as the country has seen an increase in cases.
On Sunday, less than two weeks after Mayor Bill de Blasio, a Democrat, announced schools were closing due to a growing number of COVID-19 cases in the city, he overturned his decision and said that The city’s public schools would reopen Dec. 7 for 3-K, Kindergarten, and Kindergarten to Grade 5.
Agencies, such as UNICEF, have warned of the impact of the closures on the lives of children. Earlier this month, the UN agency said the evidence showed that “the net benefits of keeping schools open outweigh the costs of closing them.”
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention director Robert Redfield said the school was among the “safest” places for children.
Cameron said Monday he “wholeheartedly” agreed that children should go back to school, adding that he knew that “more than 1,500 parents who send their children to private schools affiliated with the religion agree with this feeling ”.
“I’ll go even further and say that I believe most parents in Kentucky want their kids to go back to school,” he continued.
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“It is fundamental that our children come back and improve and progress in their own educational development. It is essential to progress in our communities here at home and across the country.
Fox News’ Sam Dorman and Evie Fordham contributed to this report.
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