Carolina Journal’s Rick Henderson made an appearance on “The Triangle’s Morning News” on 680 WPTF Wednesday morning. Henderson discussed Gov. Roy Cooper’s executive order limiting business operations with the show’s host, Scott Briggaman.
Specifically, the two discussed the intentions of the Hair is Essential Association to file a lawsuit alleging their right to earn a living has been infringed. Henderson stated:
If indeed everything is not reopened, they are going to go forward with this lawsuit. It will be interesting to see what standing these salons have to file the lawsuit. They may be seeking some relief for lost income.
Henderson explained the uncertainty salon owners face, even if the governor were to allow them to reopen.
For one thing, there are going to be additional restrictions, I would imagine, placed on these salons. So far, all we’ve gotten is a document that was leaked that explains how restaurants can reopen, but we are unsure of what guidelines that they are going to put on hair salons. It is quite possible that they will limit the number of patrons that can be in the salon at one time, even if staff and customers are masked up and the like.
This lawsuit would come in the wake of a court opinion that found Governor Cooper’s executive order limiting church congregations was unconstitutional. In a piece for Carolina Journal, Henderson writes:
The COVID-19 outbreak can’t be an excuse to outlaw most indoor worship services in North Carolina, a federal judge ruled Saturday, May 16.
U.S. District Judge James Dever issued a temporary restraining order preventing law enforcement from enforcing parts of executive orders Gov. Roy Cooper began issuing in March to limit the spread of COVID-19. The orders barred most indoor religious services unless inside worship was deemed “impossible” or against the tenets of a particular faith. Dever’s order, citing the religious freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, took effect immediately.
Read Henderson’s reporting on the court’s opinion here. Listen to his appearance on Triangle Morning News above.