Democratic Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms implied that Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s lawsuit regarding coronavirus restrictions could be motivated by sexism and racism.
Kemp issued a statewide executive order last week that banned municipalities from issuing mandatory mask mandates stricter than state guidelines, then sued the city of Atlanta for defying the order, naming Bottoms and city council members as defendants.
The lawsuit also includes allegations that Lance Bottoms refused to enforce the ban on gatherings of 50 or more people, likely referring to protests in the city last month sparked by the death of George Floyd.
“So the governor said this week, that it was the racial injustice protests that led to the rise of infections that’s happening in the state right now,” said CBS “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan. “What role did they play? Why do you think infections are spiking?”
WATCH:
Lance Bottoms contended that she has “not seen any data or science that points to that,” then contended that “people from across the country” coming to Georgia since the early reopening was the cause of the spike.
“And the governor has done many things as of late and said many things as of late that quite frankly are simply bizarre,” she said, holding up the lawsuit. “If the governor of this state had his way, I would not be allowed to speak with you today.” (RELATED: ‘I’m Not Going To Allow That To Happen’: Georgia Governor Defends Lawsuit, Fires Back At Mayors ‘Playing Politics’)
“And so this blame game is most unusual,” she continued. “There were other cities in our states who instituted mask mandates and he did not push back against them. I don’t know if it’s perhaps because they were led by men or if it’s perhaps because of the demographic in the city of Atlanta. I don’t know what the answers are. But what I do know is that the science is on our side when you look at the report, the unpublished report from the White House, we are a red zone state and we are in danger.”