Gov. Andy Beshear, D-Ky., will have to pay three churchgoers over $270,000 over his in-person church service ban during the early part of the COVID-19 pandemic. Randall Daniel, Theodore Roberts and Sally O’Boyle sued Gov. Beshear back in August of 2020.
The three argued the ban violated their right to assemble as guaranteed by the First Amendment. A federal appeals court made that same point in a ruling on Beshear’s in-person church ban a few months prior. After a district court awarded Daniel, Roberts and O’Boyle attorney’s fees, that same federal appeals court upheld that ruling on Monday, April 10.
“I know a lot of people who are outraged that the taxpayer is on the hook for Andy’s constitutional violation. I share this outrage, but this outrage must be aimed at Beshear,” Roberts tweeted Monday. “If the people of Kentucky want to quit being taxed to pay for these court judgments, Kentucky must elect a governor who will actually follow the constitution.”
Straight Arrow News aims to identify when stories are being underreported on either side of the political aisle and media landscape. This story is a Media Miss for center-oriented and left -leaning outlets, with most sources reporting it being right-leaning outlets, according to Ground.News.
In-person church services was one of the many divisive topics to come out of the pandemic. Those on the Right were generally supportive of keeping in-person services, and those on the Left were generally opposed. This dynamic would explain why a legal victory for those suing over a ban on in-person services would receive more coverage from the Right.
