Gov. John Bel Edwards’ coronavirus restrictions have come under increasing scrutiny in recent weeks, with Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy urging more flexibility for churches and the Pelican Institute for Public Policy favoring a greater role for the state legislature.
In an Aug. 17 letter to the governor, Kennedy notes that under Edwards’ Phase 2 coronavirus order, “essential businesses” don’t have uniform capacity limits and are allowed to serve customers based on general safety requirements. Churches, on the other hand, are singled out with additional restrictions.
“Currently, your Phase 2 order limits places of worship to 50 percent capacity, even when congregations take incredible lengths to remain socially distanced and encourage mask wearing when they gather,” Kennedy said.
The senator urged Edwards to apply the same rules to churches as he does to essential businesses so that worshipers’ constitutional rights are better preserved.
A Pelican Institute paper, authored by Sarah Harbison, the institute’s general counsel, goes a step further by questioning whether businesses should be tagged as “essential” or “nonessential.”
“In the paper, I write that we disagree with the designation of businesses as essential and nonessential,” Harbison told the Louisiana Record, “and instead they should be treated as whether their operations can be done safely or if any of them are unsafe. Churches, I think, you can treat the same way."
Places of worship can institute safety measures, such as a mandatory mask rule, social distancing, more frequent services and temperature checks, she said.
“There are a lot of ways in which church services can be conducted safely, in the same way as Sen. Kennedy argues that an essential business can run their business safely,” Harbison said.
Though the courts have generally not second-guessed state governments’ efforts to protect public health during the pandemic, justices have also warned that executive orders need to be tailored to respect constitutional rights, the Pelican Institute’s report says.
Louisiana should have checks and balances that require the governor to get the approval of the state legislature in order to extend executive emergency orders beyond 30 days, according to the report.
“Our suggestion is that we would look at public health statutes in other states, like Wisconsin for example, which requires that the legislature approve any renewal,” Harbison said.
In addition, equal treatment of demonstrations and worship services should be emphasized in the state health orders, she said.
“You need to treat churches and protests in the same way,” Harbison said, “and I think that’s the way Kennedy is going.”