LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell has sent a letter to Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer urging him to permit church services that adhere to CDC social distancing guidelines.
Fischer on Friday announced a prohibition of drive-in church services as part of an ongoing effort to combat the spread of COVID-19.
In a letter to the mayor on Friday, McConnell questioned why the ban on religious services when no similar ban had been placed on "gatherings of people in vehicles for commercial purposes -- including large, heavily trafficked retail operations, grocery stores and many others."
Some religious leaders have said that they feel singled out by bans of the type issued in Louisville, and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear's decision to record license plate numbers of people attending Easter Sunday in-person church services, which he has prohibited in a wider order banning mass gatherings in the state.
"When the government permits people in vehicles to gather in parking lots for secular purposes but prohibits them from doing so for religious purposes, it raises the specter that the government is singling religious people out for disfavored treatment," McConnell wrote in the letter.
Fischer on Friday acknowledged that this is a "painful" time for religious communities, who are being asked to forego in-person services during some of their most important holy days. He said only a handful of churches in Louisville were still considering such services, and that he has been, "imploring, begging, requesting" them to reconsider.
But in the interests of promoting public safety and stifling community spread of COVID-19, he said he did not want large numbers of Louisvillians driving around the city for services that could pose a danger.
McConnell, however, argues in his letter to Fischer that if churches are abiding by social distancing guidelines, they should be allowed to hold drive-in services.
"I believe churches should be following CDC guidelines on mitigating the transmission of COVID-19 and support temporary regulations consistent with that guideline," he wrote. "Religious organizations share the national responsibility to right the disease's spread."
He called churches that continued to meet in defiance of CDC guidelines and state requests "troubling and disheartening."
At least one church in Louisville, On Fire Christian Church on New Cut Road, said it plans to sue Fischer over the drive-in services order.
McConnell said that faith communities who are not violating community guidelines are sources of faith and comfort.
"I believe the government has the means to stop the spread of COVID-19 short of a flat ban on gatherings of people in vehicles for religious purposes," he wrote. 'I, therefore, urge you to permit religious gatherings that carefully and strictly comply with CDC guidelines for combating the spread of COVID-19."
Beshear has not issued a statewide ban on drive-in services, but said they must comply with state social distancing guidelines, with no more than a single family in a vehicle, cars parked at least 6 feet apart, no one getting out of cars and nothing passed between the cars.
He also said local communities may set stricter guidelines, and he would honor those.
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