Brian Kemp clarified his executive orders to block Atlanta and 14 other local governments from requiring face coverings
Georgia governor Brian Kemp is suing Atlanta city officials to block them from enforcing masks in public.
Photograph: Mike Stewart/AP
The governor of Georgia is suing Atlanta’s mayor and city council to block the city from enforcing its mandate to wear a mask in public and other rules related to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Governor Brian Kemp and Georgia attorney general Chris Carr, in a suit filed in state court late Thursday in Atlanta, argue that Atlanta’s mayor, Keisha Lance Bottoms, has overstepped her authority and must obey Kemp’s executive orders under state law.
“Governor Kemp must be allowed, as the chief executive of this state, to manage the public health emergency without Mayor Bottoms issuing void and unenforceable orders which only serve to confuse the public,” the lawsuit states.
The move followed an executive order by Kemp on Wednesday that resulted in an ambiguous situation, with Kemp denying local governments could order masks, but local governments arguing it was within their power.
Bottoms said Thursday during a video news conference that the city’s order is still in effect.
“As of today, 3,104 Georgians have died and I and my family are amongst the 106,000 who have tested positive for Covid-19,” Bottoms said in a statement after the lawsuit was filed. “A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing. If being sued by the state is what it takes to save lives in Atlanta, then we will see them in court.”
Officials in at least 15 Georgia cities and counties had ordered masks during the coronavirus pandemic, and many were angry at Kemp for swatting down their efforts.
“How can we take care of our local needs when our state ties our hands behind our back and then says ‘Ignore the advice of experts’?” asked Savannah Mayor Van Johnson in a news conference.
Bottoms last week made statements that people had to return to sheltering at home and forcing restaurants to return to only offering takeout and delivery. Kemp quickly swatted those claims down, and Bottoms on Thursday described them as guidelines. But Kemp’s lawsuit says the court should set Bottoms straight on those statements as well, and forbid her from making more claims about her power to reporters.
Kemp says he strongly supports mask-wearing to combat the spread of Covid-19 infections. He traveled the state this month to encourage face coverings. But he has maintained for weeks that cities and counties can’t require masks in public places, saying local actions can’t be more or less restrictive than his statewide orders.
He has also said local governments could not order masks on their own property, which would include Atlanta’s massive airport.
Although national health officials have called on people to use masks, Donald Trump’s administration has not issued any nationwide guidance. Twenty-six states and the District of Columbia now require masks.
Thursday’s numbers showed more than 2,800 people hospitalized statewide with the Covid-19 respiratory illness, the highest on record. The state reported that 84% of hospitals’ critical beds were filled.
Georgia overall had more than 131,000 confirmed infections and more than 3,100 deaths overall as of Thursday.
