Nancy Ohanian envisions Trump celebrating Easter SundayKansas is one hella red state. The last time the state voted for a Democrats was in 1964. In 2016, Hillary won just 35.7% of the vote. The 40-member state Senate has 29 Republicans and 11 Democrats and the state House consists of 84 Republicans and 41 Dems. But in 2018, Kansans got lucky-- luckier than anyone could have imagined. Democratic state Senator Laura Kelly ran for governor and the GOP's mainstream candidate was defeated in the primary by neo-Nazi Kris Kobach. Enough Kansans had had enough Kobach to swing the election to Kelly-- 489,337 (47.8%) to 443,346 (43.3%).A lot of Kansans were not exposed to COVID-19 yesterday because of that election. Kelly was late to institute social distancing rules to hinder the spread of the pandemic in her state but unlike so many Republican governors in states as red as hers, she finally did it and did not include an exemption for churches. The Republicans in the state legislature went insane and reversed her order, with crackpot Republican Death Cult Attorney General Derek Schmidt claiming Kelly's oder violated the state constitution. Schmidt told law enforcement not to enforce Kelly's order.On Saturday, as the religionist arm of the Republican Death Cult prepared to lure thousands of congregants into churches-- one of the most effective ways to spread the contagion-- the state Supreme Court, at Kelly's request, struck down the Republican efforts to override her order. The Court-- meeting via video chat-- unanimously ruled that the legislative council does not have the authority to overturn the governors order and that her ban of gatherings with more than 10 people would stand.The Topeka Capital-Journal reported that one Republican Death Cult leader, "Pastor Aaron Harris, of Calvary Baptist Church in Junction City, said the high court’s decision doesn’t 'validate the governor’s order,' which carries the full force of law. 'The legislative council may not have had legal authority to revoke it, but it is still unconstitutional,' Harris said. 'We’ll be having services tomorrow. I hope and pray that our local LE will respect the constitution.'"Needless to say, Harris isn't the only sociopath eager to spread the disease. The NY Times reported that, even with Trump urging people to celebrate Easter virtually, "a small number of renegade pastors are pressing on with in-person church services, defying stay-at-home orders and the guidance from health officials.
A pastor in Louisiana has boasted that his church would have a crowd of up to 2,000 worshipers. A pastor in Jackson, Miss., has organized an in-person service, but said he would disperse it if the police show up.Restrictions on mass gatherings have frustrated a small number of religious conservatives, who see the rules as attempts to limit Christian practice. In Kentucky on Saturday, a federal judge blocked Mayor Greg Fischer of Louisville from restricting drive-in church services, noting that drive-in liquor stores were still open.The Supreme Court of Kansas ruled late Saturday night to uphold Gov. Laura Kelly’s order limiting the size of church services on Easter Sunday to 10 people. Republican legislators had argued that the order restricted their constitutional freedom.The governors of Florida and Texas have exempted religious services from stay-at-home orders. In Kentucky, mass gatherings over Easter weekend are permitted, but anyone who participates must quarantine for 14 days. To enforce this, the state will record the license plates outside large gatherings, Gov. Andy Beshear said.The Department of Justice may take action against state and local leaders who have specifically restricted in-person gatherings. Attorney General William P. Barr is “monitoring” government regulation of religious services, a Department of Justice spokeswoman said in a tweet on Saturday night.“While social distancing policies are appropriate during this emergency, they must be applied evenhandedlyand not single out religious orgs,” the spokeswoman, Kerri Kupec, said. “Expect action from DOJ next week.”
