Posted on 04/23/2020 1:22:39 AM PDT by grundle
Police chiefs from Texas to Washington are standing up against draconian orders from local leaders demanding strict adherence to extreme social distancing measures to curb the spread of the novel Wuhan coronavirus.
The Houston Police Officers Union declared Wednesday that its members would refrain from enforcing local County Judge Lina Hidalgos ruling deeming it mandatory for any individual over the age of 10 to wear a mask in public.
The Houston Police Officers Union believes everyone should be wearing a mask in public, in order to protect themselves from the virus and we are encouraging all of our officers to wear a mask, the union wrote in a statement. However, we draw the line at the draconian measures Hidalgo has decided to engage in.
Our officers work every single day to bridge the gap with our community and earn their trust, we will not stand idly by and allow Hidalgo to tear that bridge down, with her horrific leadership and echo chamber decision making.
HPOU response to @LinaHidalgoTX draconian mask order: Now we want to be very clear, HPOU believes everyone should be wearing a mask in public, in order to protect themselves from the virus and we are encouraging all of our officers to wear a mask. However, we draw the line pic.twitter.com/XbphfNYHii
Houston Police Officers' Union (@HPOUTX) April 22, 2020
The police union said it had contacted the state attorney generals office to determine whether Hidalgos ruling was even constitutional, noting that until then, members were encouraged to use discretion in enforcement of the measure as resources are already stretched thin from the pandemic.
In Washington, Snohomish County Sheriff Adam Fortney announced Tuesday that his officers would also abstain from enforcement of lockdown orders, joining Franklin County Sheriff J.D. Raymond who said he would not stop churches and business from opening with reasonable distancing measures in place.
As I have previously stated, I have not carried out any enforcement for the current stay-at-home order, Fortney wrote on Facebook. I will always put your constitutional rights above politics or popular opinion. We have the right to peacefully assemble. We have the right to keep and bear arms. We have the right to attend church service of any denomination.
Fortney challenged Democratic Washington Gov. Jay Inslees lockdown orders as inconsistent, deeming some businesses essential over others. While government construction projects may continue Fortney points out, private contractors remain out of work.
As I arrive to work at the courthouse, I see landscapers show up each day to install new landscape and maintain our flowerbeds, Fortney wrote. However, a father who owns a construction company and works alone while outdoors is not allowed to run his business to make a living to provide for his wife and children?
This contradiction is not okay and is bordering on unethical, said Fortney.
Further east in Michigan, four sheriffs in the northwest part of the mitten also announced last week that they would refuse to enforce Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmers lockdown orders which have been the most extreme in the country.
By the stroke of a pen, Whitmer has deemed it illegal for Michiganders to travel between residences or buy seeds while lottery tickets remain permitted to purchase.
Whitmer, the sheriffs said in a joint statement, has created a vague framework of emergency laws that only confuse Michigan citizens.
As a result, we will not have strict enforcement of these orders, the sheriffs wrote. We will deal with every case as an individual situation and apply common sense in assessing the apparent violation We believe that we are the last line of defense in protecting your civil liberties.
As the pandemic over the Wuhan coronavirus stretches into the next month, wreaking havoc on the American economy, an anxious public is losing its patience with increasingly strict lockdowns keeping millions out of work while models have proven inaccurate.
Since the start of the pandemic, more than 22 million Americans have filed for unemployment over just four weeks and protests against shelter-in-place orders have begun to appear nationwide.
Last week, several state governors announced they would allow shelter-in-place orders to expire either on or before April 30 with certain conditions in place to kickstart their stalled economies while keeping the virus at bay.
States preparing partial reopenings include Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama, and Texas.
Resist!
What pisses me off more than anything is the arrogance of people who have a steady means of income and can ride this thing out dictating to working people that they cannot earn their daily bread and provide for their families. It’s disgusting, and it has to stop.
Resist we much!
Hopefully this is a trial run on how the Sheriff’s will react when/if the gun grabbers get their way..
IMO, most of the Sheriff’s will only go so far in enforcing these crazy edicts and laws..
If they don’t knock this crap off they’re going to end up facing a real revolt. the kind where people get killed a lot quicker than any virus. They’re going to put us all in the poor house with no hope to recover. What the hell do they think will happen then? We’re just going to sit on the curb, homeless, cold and hungry but wearing masks?
They’re insane, and they have no idea what they’re doing. Tucker put it perfectly on his show today when talking about De Blasio, but it applies to all of these democrat dipshits like this judge too, he said “this is what happens when you give mediocre people power”. He’s so right.
Elect Tyrants
.
Get Tyranny!
“Some” police, certainly not all. There is always the willing, goose-stepping person who gets off on controlling and hurting other people. The leftist police officer will willingly and joyfully enforce whatever rule his masters tell him to enforce.
And this is what is happening all over the country.
Buy weapons and ammo, folks.
JoMa
About f*ckin time.
I know this will never fly but here is an idea for those that are demanding that businesses stay closed until this virus is completely defeated.
We hear so many people claim that those effected by the lock down need to stop complaining and do it for the good off society. However, most of those saying this are still drawing a paycheck or unemployment+++. They may be working in fields that put them in harms way but that is not the same as being in jeopardy of foreclosure/eviction, having their car repossessed, having liquidated their 401K/savings and other losses due to the loss of an income.
My proposal is that, as of 1 May, any state that has not opened up the economy must, for equality purposes, compensate all businesses and persons unable to work because of the lock down by:
1.Requiring all public and private employees, currently working, to forfeit 50% of their pay, which will be placed in an escrow account.
2.All businesses, public or private, to forfeit 50% of gross income, which will be placed in an escrow account. Public businesses include all government agencies and departments along with schools, colleges, universities and public/private entities.
3.All non-profit organizations currently operating during the lock down will forfeit 50% of all donations made to the non-profit which will be placed in an escrow account. Non-profits include employee unions, political PACS, Think Tanks and Legal Aid organizations, immigration and environment groups, etc.
4.Every month all businesses and persons unable to work because of the lock down will provide the management board of the escrow account an invoice listing the amount of money that the business or the person would have made if not for the lock down.
5.The escrow account management board will distribute to the businesses or persons unable to work because of the lock down an amount drawn from the escrow account that is equal to the amount of their invoice, (after verification of the invoices legitimacy), in order to make them whole.
This proposal is to ensure that the pain of flattening the curve is evenly distribute across the whole of the state. Since businesses were closed and the owners were denied of any compensation for the taking for the good of the society to limit the number of people who would get sick from the virus, it is only fair that those that have sacrificed for the societal good should be made whole by those that they sacrificed for. This also applies to persons who were unable to work, (like the self employed and contract workers who did not qualify for unemployment).
The program will remain in effect until all businesses and persons unable to work because of the lock down have recouped all of the losses they incurred because of the lock down and until their businesses/persons have recovered to the pre-lock down income flow.
It’s a start!
I like it! Nice dream.
No, no, no, no, NO seeds for you!
That is what Herr Whitmer’s jackboots are for, trampling backyard gardens.
There are plenty of cops in this country who have no problem going leftist totalitarian. Remember the Boston Strong thuggery in Watertown? Dont rely on the police to save us from a democrat police state, at least in larger cities and blue communities.
We are witnessing death by affirmative action.
Everyone who says they are in favor of keeping the economy shut down should be required to say how much they are still earning during this shutdown.
If you don’t have a pro-2nd amendment, constitutional sheriff in your county, get off your ass and elect one - now. This sheriff has the armed and legal muscle to shut down gestapo cops who violate your rights. The sheriff also has investigative powers to rid your village, city and county of thieving democrats. Believe me when I say that all democrats in government are thieves.
To date, my sheriff has thrown three democrat bureaucrats into state prison for embezzlement.
4 people cannot gather in Ventura county (Calif)yet.... there are dozens or hundreds in grocery stores!!
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