Protesters gathered outside of Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear’s (D) press briefing on Wednesday, shouting, “We want to work.”
The protesters fathered outside of Beshear’s press briefing room, holding signs and chanting, “We want to work,” “Facts over fear,” “Open up Kentucky,” and “Open up the church!”
The governor acknowledged the protesters but dismissed their demands, stating that reopening the economy would “absolutely kill people.”
“We do have some folks up in here in Kentucky today — and everybody should be able to express their opinion — that believe we should reopen Kentucky immediately, right now,” Beshear said. “Folks, that would kill people. That would absolutely kill people.”
“My job isn’t to make the popular decision, but the right decision, and the decision that saves peoples’ lives,” he added.
“We just came here to hopefully get a message to Beshear to open up Kentucky,” one of the protesters said, according to the Courier-Journal. “I want to be in my church…”
Beshear came under heavy scrutiny last week after announcing the state’s intention of documenting the license plate numbers of individuals attending religious services — or mass gatherings of any kind — over Easter weekend and turning the information over to the health department, which would, in turn, contact the individuals and instruct them to self-quarantine for two weeks.
“We absolutely cannot bring people together in one building like that, because that is how the coronavirus spreads, and that is how people die,” the governor said at the time.
“Understand that this is the only way that we can ensure that your decision doesn’t kill somebody else,” he continued.
“I think it’s not a test of faith whether you’re going to an in-person service,” he added.
Residents in Michigan also expressed their dissatisfaction with their governor’s stringent stay-at-home orders, gathering in Lansing on Wednesday in protest.
