The Latest (7/9/20):
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A North Carolina judge refused on Wednesday to delay enforcement of his ruling allowing dozen of bowling alleys to reopen in contradiction to Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order keeping them shut to discourage COVID-19′s spread.
Judge James Gale denied the request from attorneys for the state representing Cooper in a lawsuit filed by an association of bowling lane operators. Later Wednesday, Department of Justice lawyers asked the state Supreme Court to intervene and halt the implementation of Gale’s preliminary injunction for now.
Gale decided on Tuesday that the association was likely to win on arguments that Cooper’s order wrongly treated them differently than businesses with similar levels of risk for spreading the virus that the governor had let reopen. Cooper and his administration said the injunction would discourage the state’s effort to slow COVID-19′s reach during a time of increasing cases and hospitalizations.
While Cooper had allowed restaurants, barber shops and salons to reopen partially in late May, bars, gyms, bowling alleys and skating rinks have remained closed since March.
Original Story (7/7/20):
RALEIGH, N.C. – A North Carolina court has ordered Governor Cooper to allow bowling alleys to operate “so long as other similarly situated businesses are allowed to remain open.”
In a press release from State House Speaker Tim Moore (R-Cleveland), it says North Carolina families who operate bowling alleys have taken to the court system to fight for their constitutional right to conduct business alongside competing industries who have been allowed to operate. The North Carolina General Assembly has passed legislation to allow gyms, bars, bowling alleys, and other businesses to operate alongside their competitors, but those measures were repeatedly vetoed by the Governor.
A statement from Moore followed:
This court decision reflects the difficult reality that the Governor has chosen winners and losers in North Carolina’s economy without any justification or consistency, devastating some family businesses while helping others. The Governor’s inconsistent approach to closing businesses has been unfair, inequitable, and thus illegal from the start. I continue to urge the Governor to produce a plan for all North Carolina companies, to communicate that plan, and to help businesses comply with consistent protocols so they may safely operate.
Governor Roy Cooper’s spokesperson, Ford Porter, shared the following statement in response to the court ruling:
Hospitalizations and positive cases are reaching record highs while the Governor works to get schools open and prevent the state from going backward on restrictions. The Governor will immediately appeal this ruling that harms both of these efforts.
