Recently I documented numerous examples of government overreach during the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. Did you think that would end? Nope.
Here are some more examples from Michigan, Kentucky, and Virginia.
Not to be outdone, the Governor of Michigan has oredered restrictions like banning sale of non-essential goods in large stores. See Politifact.
[Correction: This text and title have been updated to reflect that Whitmer’s Order applies only to large stores, and does not itself ban sale of seeds, though many retailers have roped off garden centers and other sections in reaction.]
I know delivery is slow but order this stuff online. The government cannot stop you from doing this stuff.
Whitmer ticked off residents even more by telling them she restricted residence-to-residence travel except for dire circumstances:
Beginning Saturday morning, previously permitted travel between two Michigan residences will end, including jumping in the car to visit a friend, or even walking across the street to watch TV with a neighbor. Exceptions include purposes such as caring for a relative, an elderly friend or a pet, visiting a nursing home or similar facility, attending a funeral with no more than 10 people, or complying with a court order related to child custody.”I don’t think that’s right,” said Hal Hughes, 88, a retired manufactured home salesman in Plymouth. “You should be able to visit who you want to visit.”
Guess what. If you own a cottage in Michigan but live in a different state, you can still visit your cottage:
Though the new order prohibits trips from a Michigan residence to a Michigan cottage, travel between states is still permitted, and by the words of the order, only “individuals currently living within the State of Michigan,” but not residents living in other states, are subject to the order. That would suggest that residents of other states who own cottages Up North can continue to visit, unless banned by a “stay home” order in their own state.
Right now it’s important to note that the Constitution only applies to the federal government.
That does not mean we cannot complain or point out the restrictions on religious freedom done by a state. Our natural rights do not go out the window in the event of a viral pandemic!
ANYWAY.
Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear announced that Kentucky State Police will write down your license plate number if they spot your car at any mass gathering this weekend.
Then the police will send your license plate number to the health department. The department will then force you into quarantine.
By now you know the risks of the coronavirus. If you choose to go to a mass gathering then so be it.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), who recently recovered from coronavirus, still knows the importance of freedom. Sunday is Easter, the holiest day on the Christian calendar.
Gov. Ralph Northam’s COVID Order 55 says those who violate the mass gathering ban face a year in prison and/or a $2,500 fine.
Pastor Kevin Wilson of the Lighthouse Fellowship Church in Chincoteague, VA, held a service with 16 people. The building holds 293 people. The 16 people sat far apart from each other and as far as I know had no contact with each other.
Before the service the police treated Wilson like a criminal:
Last Sunday before the service, a local police officer entered the church. He gave no introduction and did not ask for the pastor. He abruptly said they could not have more than 10 people spaced six feet apart. Then after the service, two police officers entered the church in full mask and gloves and asked to speak with the pastor. They issued him a summons and informed him that if he had service on Easter, all attending would receive the same summons, according to the Liberty Counsel.
The coronavirus pandemic has led to isolation and cut off those in need from getting help or supplies.
The Lighthouse Fellowship Church does a lot for the community. It sounds like they are needed even more now:
Lighthouse Fellowship is known in the local community for helping keep people free of drug addiction, brokenness, mental illness, poverty, prostitution, and has a 12-step recovery program. Many of the members do not have driver’s licenses and are dependent on the church family for rides to get food, supplies, and medical appointments and personal care services like haircuts.Many church attendees are on limited income obtained from government assistance, whether disability or Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid. The church has helped various members with electric or gas bills, rent, groceries, physical labor and transportation for moving, donating time, expertise and resources for repairing and renovating houses and travel trailers, cooking meals, helping people to apply for disability benefits, providing rides to medical appointments, clothes, and wood for stoves, fuel for cars, and cutting grass. The church also offers a blanket ministry, prayer ministry, discipleship programs, and counseling services.Founder and Chairman of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver said, “Lighthouse Fellowship Church protected the health and safety of the 16 people by requiring them to be spread far apart in the 293-seat sanctuary. These people do not have internet or cars, and they depend on the ministry of the church for their physical and spiritual needs. But because the church had six more people than the 10 allowed by Gov. Ralph Northam, the pastor is being criminally charged.”
[Featured image via YouTube]
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY