America’s worst mayor is digging in his heels.
New York City’s Bill de Blasio this week defended his administration’s selective enforcement of social distancing standards. It is “apples and oranges,” he said, to accuse him of a double-standard for encouraging Black Lives Matter protests while also insisting that places of worship remain shuttered indefinitely to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
The mayor joined CNN for an interview Wednesday to discuss New York City’s ongoing efforts to combat the pandemic. During the discussion, CNN’s John Berman asked de Blasio to respond to a federal judge’s recent ruling that both the mayor and Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo violated the Constitution when they issued orders barring people of faith from gathering for worship and prayer services.
“The court said you openly discouraged religious gatherings and threatened religious worshipers and sent a clear message that mass protests are deserving of preferential treatment,” said the CNN anchor. “Essentially saying that you treated the protesters who were on the streets differently than the religious gatherings that were on the streets. Your reaction?”
“No. Just wrong,” the mayor responded, claiming the comparison is “apples and oranges.”
“We worked with the religious leadership of this city for months,” he said. He omitted the pertinent detail that the state left religious leaders with little choice. It is fine if certain faith officials reportedly agree with de Blasio that closing their doors would be best for congregants, but do not lose sight of the fact that participation in church, synagogue, and mosque lockdowns was not exactly optional.
“The protests were an entirely different reality,” de Blasio continued on CNN. “A national phenomenon that was not something that the government could just say, you know, go away, something that really came from the grassroots. And, obviously, it had profound meaning, and we’re all acting on the meaning of those protests. But it’s really apples and oranges.”
[OPINION: County let thousands protest but capped church attendance until lawyers got involved]
Just so we are all on the same page: Worship, prayer, funeral services, Eater, Ramadan, Passover, and more were deemed nonessential this year by de Blasio. Services everywhere were canceled because, according to elected officials, it would be too dangerous for people of faith to gather.
But the protests, which have seen thousands of people breaking every social distance guideline outlined by health care experts? Well, those are different, according to the mayor. Unlike faith, the protests are … important. And anyway, it is not as if the government can simply say “go away” to an important, lawful assembly. That would be unconstitutional, just like it is unconstitutional to bar citizens from the free exercise of their religion.
This is not an “apples and oranges” situation. This is merely one where elected officials are giving preferential treatment to a group they deem more politically important and deserving than another group.
The flagrant disregard for the constitutional rights of the faithful notwithstanding, there is also the rather large issue of the virus itself. Put simply, it does not discriminate based on righteousness or political value. If, as our elected officials claimed as they closed our churches, mosques, and synagogues, it is too dangerous for groups of 10 or more to convene, then it is too dangerous for groups of 10 or more to convene for anything.
It’s just icing on the cake to see de Blasio, who of all leaders has done such a bang-up job on coronavirus so far, make authoritative assertions on this topic.
