Bar owners in Texas and Florida are taking their state governments to court for shutting them down while leaving open restaurants that have full-service bars.
Republican Govs. Ron DeSantis of Florida and Greg Abbott of Texas issued orders for bars in their states to close at the end of June due to rising COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations, blaming the spike on bars with young people.
Now bar owners are pushing back.
They argue that many restaurants have full-service bars too, so the order is arbitrary. They also say there is no scientific evidence to support that bars being open led to a spike in COVID-19 cases.
“Our folks aren’t trying to throw out all restrictions. They just want to be open and comply with the law fairly,” said John Dill, an attorney representing a group of bar owners in Orlando. “We are just looking for them to be playing on the playing field as the restaurants.”
Mr. Dill said the state should punish bars and establishments that are not following social distancing orders instead of penalizing all bars — including those that have complied with sanitation, capacity, mask and social distancing regulations.
His clients’ 14-page complaint filed in state court earlier this month in Orange County, Florida, noted one of the plaintiff’s bars is just doors away from a restaurant with a full-service bar that remains in service.
“What possible rational basis could exist for the deprivation of rights under the state constitution when one establishment that happens to serve more food remains open while a similar establishment must remain closed?” the complaint read.
The group of bars seeks a temporary injunction against the governor’s order and hopes the judge will set an emergency hearing in the coming days.
In Texas, more than a dozen bars have filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging the governor’s order in late June for the Lone Star State violates constitutional rights to due process and freedom of assembly.
The complaint cites the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission noting just days before the governor’s order closing bars that there had been “a high level of compliance” with COVID-19 restrictions from alcohol-permit holders.
The lawsuit said 800,000 Texans work in the industry and face unemployment, suggesting a financial disaster is on the horizon.
In his court filing responding to the bars’ request for a restraining order to freeze his shutdown, Mr. Abbott said the bars can do drive-thru and carry-out services — including alcoholic beverages — to help alleviate financial difficulties.
Mr. Abbott defended the need to shut down bars due to the pandemic.
“The stakes could not be higher. Over 280,000 cases of COVID-19 have been reported in Texas alone, killing over 3,400 Texans thus far,” the governor’s court filing Thursday said.
His office did not respond to a request for comment, nor did the office of Mr. DeSantis return comment on pending litigation against him.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.