KDP, KEA, KY 120 statements on Supreme Court mask mandate ruling
The following is a statement from Colmon Elridge, Chair of the Kentucky Democratic Party:
“Over the course of the last 18 months, Governor Beshear has worked with the medical community and public health specialists to protect Kentuckians. Governor Beshear’s smart, decisive, and moral actions have saved countless lives across the commonwealth while Republicans in Frankfort have refused to take any responsibility for making hard decisions to keep people safe. As Kentuckians, we continue to believe the Republicans are wrong and that these steps saved lives. Hopefully, Daniel Cameron and the GOP supermajority will finally do the right thing and stop playing politics with this virus and work with the governor to keep Kentucky safe.”
A statement from the Kentucky Education Association:
“It is unfortunate that the Kentucky Supreme Court had no choice but to uphold hyper-partisan actions of the 2021 General Assembly. Today, the coronavirus delta variant is raging across the Commonwealth, active COVID cases are at record levels, available ICU beds have reached near capacity, and in-person learning has been canceled in some school districts. Politicizing public health policy is obviously dangerous. Emergency action by Gov. Beshear to mandate masking in our schools may have very well have averted a far worse health disaster for our students and their families.”
KY 120 United-American Federation of Teachers statement on Supreme Court mask mandate ruling;
We are disheartened and quite frankly frustrated with the Kentucky Supreme Court’s ruling to end the injunction Franklin County Circuit Court placed on SB1, SB2, HB1, and HJR77 (anti-Beshear laws removing the Governor’s emergency powers). We have seen the number of COVID cases across the state dramatically increase, specifically in our population under the age of 18 at a time when children under 12 still cannot be vaccinated. Our schools and medical institutions are being stretched beyond capacity as cases surge. Governor Beshear’s emergency mask mandate in schools helped ensure that our students, staff, and families could continue with in-person instruction in a safer manner for everyone while the pandemic continues. It is our hope that GOP leaders in Frankfort stop using this public health crisis as a political weapon and start making sound decisions based on science and compassion.