© Chris Pedota/The Record via APNew Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy
"That's above my pay grade, Tucker," Murphy said Wednesday on Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight." "So, I wasn't thinking of the Bill of Rights when we did this. We went to all — first of all — we went to the scientists who said people have to stay away from each other."
Carlson pressed the Democratic governor on where he got the authority to contravene the Constitution.
"Well, here's the thing," Murphy responded. "We know we need to stay away from each other, number one. Number two, we do have broad authority within the state. And number three, we would never do that without coordinating, discussing, and hashing it out with the variety of the leaders of the faiths of New Jersey."
New Jersey has more than 71,000 coronavirus cases, more than any other state except New York.
More than 3,000 people have died in the state from the coronavirus.
The debate about the stay-at-home orders focused on an incident earlier this month when police in Lakewood, NJ, charged 15 men for violating Murphy's ban on large gatherings by congregating at a synagogue for a rabbi's funeral.
Carlson pressed Murphy on whether he consulted with an attorney because the order has legal as well as medical implications.
"I don't go to the men's room without consulting an attorney, so I guarantee you we did that," Murphy joked.
He said he spoke to leaders of faith in the Garden State, including Cardinal Joseph Tobin, the archbishop of Newark.
Murphy denied he was infringing on anybody's right to worship during the outbreak, but "we have to find a different way to worship."
Last week he extended the orders he imposed on March 9 for an additional 30 days.
Reader Comments
How can you claim to not understand the BOR, when you took an oath to obey the Constitution, which INCLUDES the BOR?
"NY Tough", "NY Strong". I'm embarrassed to be a New Yorker. People out here dealing with that fear of abandonment, so they look up to Cuomo like he's their daddy. It's disgusting to witness, but like the ol' saying goes "you can't fool everybody all the time" and trust me, there are more like me all over this city...
End the lock-down. We're not prisoners. Are we?
They're still out there waiting to get back to their old game once the Covid-19 hysteria begins to wane. And, sadly they have picked up a lot of good pointers on how to maximize panic so the future iterations of the AGW "sky-is-falling" scream-fests will only get more strident.
Authoritarian followers should be the last people holding these positions, well maybe second last, after the psychopaths.