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COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KDVR) – A lawsuit filed Thursday by three Colorado Springs business owners claims state COVID-19 restrictions violate their First Amendment rights.

BodyCast Band, Black Forest Bistro and the Mobile Veterinarian Guy included the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) Executive Director Jill Hunsaker Ryan in the lawsuit.

“The mental health issues and the financial devastation associated with the current shut down of coffee shops, restaurants and taverns, is hard to fathom,” the Dickson Law Group and Sanders Law Firm said in a press release issued Friday.

The firms described Gov. Jared Polis as “extremely well intentioned and smart” and said he is working to protect citizens while trying to allow “small places where citizens gather to fellowship, debate, get out of their homes and socialize” to reopen.

“We are confident that Governor Polis, when he sees the lawsuit, will seriously take into
account all Coloradans’ first amendment right to assemble, and that he will expedite
allowing small businesses to reopen, putting them on the same business footing as big
box stores, and to allow Colorado citizens the right to assemble where they see fit,” the press release states.

Both law firms are located in Colorado Springs.