Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked Gunnison County to modify its public health order of April 3 to remove instructions for nonresidents to leave the area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Joni Reynolds, the public health director, ordered nonresident homeowners, seasonal and temporary workers, and others to “return to their out-of-Gunnison County place(s) of residence immediately upon the issuance of this Order by the fastest and safest available means.” Furthermore, with some exceptions, those who plan to visit from elsewhere “should remain home and are prohibited from entering Gunnison County for any reason.”

The order also declared that people visiting from lower altitudes “are at a greater risk for complications from COVID-19 infection than residents” because they are not accustomed to the high altitude. It referenced the “unnecessary burdens” that visitors place on healthcare, food supplies and potentially first responders.

CPR reported that Paxton’s special counsel, David J. Hacker, wrote to Reynolds on Thursday asking her to place nonresident homeowners on equal footing with people who live in the county year-round.

The order “discriminates against nonresident homeowners by entirely prohibiting their ingress to the county and enjoyment of their real and personal property in the county. Resident homeowners, on the other hand, are under no such prohibition,” Hacker argued.

He alleged that the health order violated the privileges and immunities clause of the Constitution, which generally requires states to extend rights equally to all persons. However, the legislative and judicial branches are empowered to decide how to apply that principle.