Two photos. Two groups of NC lawmakers. Guess which is taking COVID-19 seriously?

Two photos. Two groups of North Carolina lawmakers Thursday at the General Assembly. Which group do you think is taking COVID-19 more seriously?

Both photos were taken by News & Observer visual journalist Travis Long. Both were taken shortly after lawmakers voted to pass a $1.7 billion COVID-19 response bill called the Pandemic Response Act.

In the first, Republican Rep. Bobby Hanig is taking a photo on his mobile phone of fellow Republicans having some fun in the chamber. (Yes, those are bunny ears.)

In the second, a group of Democrats — all wearing protective masks — pose for a fellow lawmaker for a photo they shared shortly after on each other’s mobile phones.

OK, some caveats: These are two moments of many this session. Were there Republicans wearing masks this week? Yes. Is it possible Democrats also ignored social distancing at some point? Certainly.

But lawmakers we spoke to Friday say the photos are reflective of what they observed in legislators. Most Democrats behaved as that group in the photo — wearing masks and keeping safely distant from each other during the session. A handful of Republicans also wore masks, which were made available to any legislator who asked, but most did not. “You could tell they were making a point of not wearing a mask,” one Democrat told the Editorial Board. That lawmaker shared a private video of the Senate that showed all Democrats, but few Republicans, wearing masks.

We also asked Republican Senate leader Phil Berger’s office for a response Friday. A spokesperson declined to comment “at this time.” The pattern of Democrats wearing masks and Republicans choosing not to continued Saturday as the House and Senate voted unanimously to approve a plan for spending more than $1.5 billion in federal stimulus funds.

When COVID-19 starting spreading in our state and country, we wondered — maybe naively — if this public health crisis would transcend partisan politics. In many ways it has — Republican governors and members of Congress certainly have taken the threat of coronavirus seriously. But it’s also true that there’s a partisan tilt in those officials who haven’t. Why? That would take a deeper dive into ideology and psychology than we’re ready to attempt right now.

We do know this: Lawmakers who shunned masks throughout the week — as well as those who didn’t practice social distancing — were potentially risking the health of colleagues by not following the recommendations of public health experts. If they were indifferent about COVID-19 at the General Assembly, it’s very possible they’ve acted similarly in other places.

And while we won’t pretend that North Carolinians model their behavior after their state representatives, those lawmakers didn’t set the best of examples, and their nonchalance certainly might be reflective of what’s going on back home. With North Carolina marching steadily toward reopening, that’s worrying.

Yes, it’s just two photos. Two captured moments. But it’s two different degrees of taking this threat seriously, and that’s a picture of one uncertain road ahead.

This story was originally published May 1, 2020 at 11:04 AM.