On March 25, 2020, Beshear declared a state of emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic. He encouraged business owners to require customers to wear face coverings while indoors. He also banned "mass gatherings" including protests but not normal gatherings at shopping malls and libraries; constitutional law professor Floyd Abrams and lawyer John Langford opined that Beshear's order was inappropriate as it violated public protests' special protected status under the First Amendment.
