GEIS-新闻详情

Did Gretchen Whitmer go too far in her coronavirus quarantine?

2020-04-16 00:00:00.0 美国有线电视-特朗普新闻原网页

(CNN)Thousands of cars descended on Michigan's state capitol building in Lansing on Wednesday in an organized protest against Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's latest guidance on how citizens needed to deal with the ongoing threat posed by the coronavirus.

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As the Detroit Free-Press reported of the effort -- known as "Operation Gridlock":

"Police watched as horns honked and commercial and private vehicles from around the state jammed Capitol Avenue and other streets surrounding Michigan's seat of government.

"'Liberty once lost is lost forever,' read a sign draped across a commercial van. 'Security without liberty is called prison,' read another, stretched across the Capitol's front lawn. 'Recall Whitmer,' a third sign said."

Malachi Barrett, a reporter for MLive.com, described the scene as: "Half protest, half Trump rally."

So what caused all of this uproar? And did Whitmer, a Democrat, take stay-at-home guidelines too far?

The furor began last Thursday, when Whitmer signed an executive order extending her previous stay-at-home order through April 30. But it also went further -- on a number of fronts -- than Whitmer's previous order. Among those further strictures included:

* No gatherings of any people who are not part of a single household

* No travel to in-state vacation or second homes

* Large stores can only have four customers for every 1,000 square feet of customer floor space. And they must close all areas " dedicated to carpeting, flooring, furniture, garden centers, plant nurseries, or paint."

* No motorboat or jet ski use

Whitmer defended the moves, among the most strict in the country, as necessary given the number of coronavirus cases in the state. "If you're not buying food or medicine or other essential items, you should not be going to the store," she said in a press conference following the release of the order.

Michigan currently has more than 27,000 cases (4th most in the country) and nearly 1,800 deaths (3rd highest).

The reaction was almost immediate, as Republican state legislators and others insisted that Whitmer's order was overly broad and unnecessarily punitive -- even given the state's ongoing public health struggle. On Tuesday, a group of four Michigan residents filed a lawsuit against Whitmer, arguing that her order represents an infringement on their 1st and 4th Amendment rights.

"It's taking a sledgehammer to an ant," David Helm, an attorney for the four, told a local Detroit TV station. "We believe it is overbroad and over-reaching. There is a way to do it appropriately without infringing on Constitutional rights like the governor has."

The blowback against Whitmer -- culminating with Wednesday's protest at the state capitol -- illustrates the extremely fine line that governors must walk amid this pandemic. Do too little and be criticized for endangering the health and well-being of your citizens. Be perceived as doing too much, and face attacks for limiting individual freedoms.