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Thursday, April 09, 2020

Kansas Republicans ax Democratic governor's ban on meetings of more than 10 people, including worship services

"Easter looming, Kansas Republican leaders on Wednesday revoked Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s order limiting religious gatherings to 10 people as the state’s coronavirus death toll jumped 40 percent," Jonathan Shorman, Amy Leiker and Michael Stavola report for The Wichita Eagle. "House and Senate leaders . . . voted along party lines . . . as the number of reported covid-19 cases in the state climbed to more than 1,000 and the death count ticked up to 38."

The order, signed Tuesday, prohibited a wide range of public and private gatherings, including religious services, Bill Lucia reports for Route Fifty. During the LCC's debate on the matter, Kelly's chief counsel, Clay Britton, argued that the order put churches on the same legal footing as secular groups, and noted that pastors and choir members were exempt from the 10-person limit.

Lee Norman, secretary of the Department of Health and Environment, said three covid-19 clusters in Kansas have been traced to church gatherings. It has happened in other states too, including Georgia, Kentucky, and Washington. Retired Kentucky physician Kevin Kavanagh told The Rural Blog that church gatherings are particularly dangerous because singing aerosolizes the virus.

Kansas Republican lawmakers mostly admit social distancing is a good idea, but object to the order because they believe it violates personal freedoms. Attorney General Derek Schmidt, for example, issued a memo saying the order was likely unconstitutional and urged police not to enforce it. But in the same memo he also asked Kansans to follow the order anyway, the Eagle reports.

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