York House Republicans Respond to Judge Ruling Wolf Orders Unconstitutional

September 14, 2020

HARRISBURG – In response to a federal judge ruling that Gov. Tom Wolf’s COVID-19 restrictions are unconstitutional, the York County House Republican Delegation, which includes House Appropriations Chair Stan Saylor (R-Red Lion) and Reps. Mike Jones (R-York Township), Kate Klunk (R-Hanover), Seth Grove (R-Dover), Dawn Keefer (R-Dillsburg) and Keith Gillespie (R-Hellam), issued the following statement:

“We applaud the federal judge’s ruling that upheld the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment in the United States Constitution. For months we have argued that Gov. Tom Wolf’s unjust restrictions unfairly and negatively impacted small businesses, the cornerstone of our economy, that were forced to shutter while big corporate businesses were permitted to remain open.

“As the judge wrote in the opinion: ‘In fact, while attempting to limit interactions, the arbitrary method of distinction used by (the governor) almost universally favored businesses which offered more, rather than fewer products… Even in an emergency, the authority of government is not unfettered.’

“From the start, the governor’ s response to the pandemic was marked with inconsistencies that favored big businesses as family-owned small businesses suffered. His arbitrary, archaic orders put hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians needlessly out of work, which left thousands of families in peril and put a strain on our administration’s failed unemployment compensation system.

“We believe it is time for the administration’s unconstitutional restrictions be lifted so Pennsylvanians can go back to work and carry on with their lives.”

York County Republican Delegation
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Media Contact: Greg Gross
717.260.6374
ggross@pahousegop.com