An engaged, inoculated couple have brought suit so they may dance at their Washington, DC, wedding where it is illegal under Mayor Muriel Bowser’s coronavirus prohibitions.
Attorney at Hamilton Lincoln Law Institute Ted Frank is leading the suit on behalf of Margaret Appleby and her fiancé that seeks “preliminary injunctive relief to prevent enforcement of the wedding dancing ban.”
Frank tweeted the announcement of the suit, charging that his client has “socially distanced for over a year and limited her wedding guest list to 70. But on April 26,” Frank said, “DC banned Margaret from dancing at her wedding.”
Mayor Bowser has banned dancing at weddings in the District of Columbia.
But it’s a pretty ersatz imitation of Footloose. DC permits dancing at Zumba classes and strip clubs.
Today, @HamLincLaw brought suit on behalf of a bride-to-be against this abuse. pic.twitter.com/UVdJUxzhnB
— tedfrank 💉 (@tedfrank) May 10, 2021
Frank tweeted, “48 states—including Virginia and Maryland a few miles away—permit dancing at weddings. Margaret and her husband will be vaccinated and wearing masks and socially distanced from other guests, but they cannot take a first dance together.”
“This is irrational and unscientific,” Frank claimed.
“This is a pandemic, and government can take steps in favor of the public health. I take COVID seriously, and so does my client. But the government cannot act so arbitrarily to ban expressive speech,” Frank continued.
Frank concluded by suggesting the couple could have booked their reception “a few miles away,” where “Margaret and her guests could safely dance to their hearts’ content and return to DC.”
Had she had the foresight to book her wedding reception a few miles away, Margaret and her guests could safely dance to their hearts’ content and return to DC.
There’s no public-health basis to prohibit a vaccinated bride and groom from dancing.https://t.co/36ghwLoyMo
— tedfrank 💉 (@tedfrank) May 10, 2021
“Had she had the foresight to book her wedding reception a few miles away, Margaret and her guests could safely dance to their hearts’ content and return to DC. There’s no public-health basis to prohibit a vaccinated bride and groom from dancing,” the lawyer alleges.
“When DC imposes such arbitrary ham-handed restrictions on responsible vaccinated citizens, it is counterproductive,” noted Frank. “It tells the citizenry there’s no point in getting vaccinated, and that COVID will always be an excuse for the government to control your life.”
The complaint contends the “District of Columbia allows dancing in strip clubs, in Zumba and dancestudio classes, and in programs sponsored by the government’s Department of Parks and Recreation.”
“But as of May 1, 2021, as if to create an imitation of the 1984 movie Footloose, the District of Columbia has outlawed dancing at weddings. Margaret Appleby sues to end this irrational and unscientific state of affairs,” the complaint reads.
The case is Margaret Appleby v. Muriel Bowser, Karl A. Racine, and the District of Columbia, No. 1:21-cv-1276 in the U.S. District Court for the District Of Columbia.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.