FRANKFORT, Ky. — Attorney General Daniel Cameron is taking his fight over Gov. Andy Beshear's closure of religious schools to the United States Supreme Court. 

What You Need To Know

  • Attorney General files application with U.S. Supreme Court

  • Wants Gov. Andy Beshear orders involving in-person classes overturned

  • Appeals court ruled in favor of the governor Sunday

  • Cameron wants the Supreme Court to hold up his case like it did for one in New York

In the case of Danville Christian Academy v. Beshear, Cameron asks the Court to uphold a district court judge's ruling stopping the enforcement of Beshear's Executive Order banning in-person instruction at Kentucky's religious schools because of the pandemic. 

In a statement, Cameron wrote, "Kentuckians have a First Amendment right to exercise their faith through a religious education, and we maintain that the Governor is clearly infringing upon that right by closing religious schools.” He added, “The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled that religious institutions cannot be treated different than secular activities, and we are asking the court to simply apply the same analysis to the Governor’s disparate treatment of religious schools and other secular activities. We’re committed to pursuing every available option to protect the constitutional rights of Kentuckians, and today’s filing with the Supreme Court is the next step.”

Sunday, a federal appeals panel upheld Beshear’s order to stop in-person classes at religious schools during the pandemic.

A three-member panel of the Sixth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Cincinnati issued a stay of a federal judge’s order from last week.

U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove ruled Wednesday that the Democratic governor’s order cannot apply to religious schools as the “First Amendment protects the right of religious institutions ‘to decide for themselves, free from state interference, matters of church government as well as those of faith and doctrine.’”

But the appellate court said Sunday that it is likely to rule that Beshear’s order was “neutral and of general applicability” in that all schools were affected.

Cameron's lawsuit argues that religious education is a core part of the freedoms protected by the First Amendment, and the Governor’s order shuttering religious schools is unconstitutional. 

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn v. Cuomo that governors cannot impose more stringent restrictions on religious institutions than they do on secular gatherings. 

Cameron wants the Supreme Court to stop Beshear from treating religious schools "more harshly than secular activities, such as concert venues and movie theaters, which are allowed to continue operating.

The state Supreme Court upheld the governor’s authority to issue coronavirus-related mandates in a unanimous ruling on Nov. 12.

Coronavirus cases continue to surge throughout Kentucky. The state reported more than 2,100 new confirmed cases and 12 virus-related deaths Monday.

Almost all of Kentucky’s 120 counties are reported to be in the red zone — the most serious category for COVID-19 incidence rates. People in those counties are asked to follow stricter recommended guidelines to contain the virus.

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