By Peter Aitken | Fox News
Furious homeowners in a popular North Carolina vacation spot have filed a lawsuit against officials for denying them access to their second homes due to coronavirus, claiming their constitutional rights have been infringed.
Dare County, NC, where the median house price is $350,000, began to restrict access on March 20 following a State of Emergency declaration. Checkpoints along major highways require drivers to produce a North Carolina driver’s license or a “Permanent Resident Permit” to proceed across one of the two bridges that access the Outer Banks area.
Six homeowners, who reside the rest of the time in South Carolina, Virginia and Maryland, have backed the complaint, claiming the ban violates the “privileges and immunities” clause of the U.S. Constitution, which states that “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several states.”
Wall to wall beach house packed into the town of Buxton near Cape Hatteras in the Outer Banks of North Carolina
“The intent of this declaration is to decrease the risk of exposure and limit the spread of COVID-19 in Dare County by eliminating non-essential travel, thereby reducing the number of individuals in the county and ultimately reducing potential virus spread and the burden on our healthcare system,” the Dare County Control Group said in a statement regarding the original closures.
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“While disappointing for many people who enjoy spending time on the Outer Banks, these decisions are made in the interest of preserving the public health, safety and welfare of our community.”
In an interview with OBX Today, Attorney Chuck Kitchen, who is leading the lawsuit, said that his clients “simply want to get to the property they own and pay for.”
A copy of the suit, filed on April 7, reads: “If not enjoined by this Court, Dare County will continue to discriminate against the Plaintiffs, and deprive them of their Constitutional rights. The Plaintiffs will suffer irreparable injury due to the deprivation of Constitutional rights.”
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There have been a myriad of incidents of citizens fleeing from one state to another in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. Most notably, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo threatened to sue Rhode Island over a policy that called for police to stop cars with N.Y. license plates and had National Guard members asking homeowners if anyone had arrived from New York.
“I understand the goal … but there’s a point of absurdity, and I think what Rhode Island did is at that point of absurdity,” said Cuomo. “We have to keep the ideas and the policies we implement positive rather than reactionary and emotional.”
Locals from Southold, a summer town on New York’s Long Island best known for its beaches and vineyards, have also blamed a coronavirus outbreak there on New York City locals who fled the pandemic.
North Carolina has seen around 3,651 confirmed cases, with around 65 deaths. New York born-and-raised reporter with a focus on national and global news.
