[Vision2020] Hundreds defy Idaho's stay-at-home order at Capitol protest

[Debi Robinson-Smith]

You can't fix stupid....

Debi R-S

On 4/17/2020 4:32 PM, Moscow Cares wrote:
> Courtesy of /KHQ News/ at:
>
> https://www.khq.com/coronavirus/hundreds-defy-idahos-stay-at-home-order-at-capitol-protest/article_b71d5448-7932-5085-8aec-41f0fdd4d2c6.html
>
> ———————————————
>
>
>   Hundreds defy Idaho's stay-at-home order at Capitol protest
>
>
> BOISE, Idaho (AP) — More than 1,000 protesters gathered at the Idaho 
> Statehouse Friday afternoon in defiance of Gov. Brad Little’s 
> extension of the statewide stay-at-home order.
>
> Little announced Wednesday that the order would extend to the end of 
> April in the effort to slow the spread of coronavirus, although he 
> lightened some restrictions so nonessential businesses could begin 
> providing curbside service. Still, the news was met with derision by 
> some members of the far-right in Idaho, and some libertarian, 
> gun-rights and anti-vaccine organizations began directing members to 
> defy the order.
>
> The Idaho Freedom Foundation, a libertarian think tank and lobbying 
> group, emblazoned its social media feeds with “Disobey Idaho” graphics 
> and announced that it would host Friday’s rally along with Health 
> Freedom Idaho and the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance.
>
> “I can’t get a haircut, but by golly I was able to walk into Pet Smart 
> this morning and get my dog a grooming appointment. It defies logic,” 
> said Wayne Hoffman, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. “The 
> damage that’s being done to the individuals, to businesses and the 
> economy is horrific.”
>
> Hoffman said the governor should allow all businesses to open to give 
> owners a chance to demonstrate that they can take appropriate steps to 
> mitigate the risk.
>
> “I worry that if we don’t adapt our approach that we will continue to 
> battle COVID-19 in incremental ways for weeks, months and years to 
> come,” Hoffman said. “It’s like a lot of other variables that you have 
> to deal with in the world -- people with all kinds of ailments come to 
> your doors.”
>
> Most at the protest were standing shoulder-to-shoulder and not wearing 
> masks. Some carried signs claiming the coronavirus is a hoax, while 
> others held signs with slogans like, “All workers are essential” and 
> “Freedom not fear.”
>
> The effect of the coronavirus on the economy has been dire. In Idaho, 
> nearly 96,000 people have filed for unemployment since Little first 
> declared a state of emergency on March 13. That's far more than the 
> number of claims filed in Idaho during all of 2019.
>
> Similar protests have been held across the country, with groups 
> pushing back against stay-at-home orders in places like Michigan, 
> Texas and Virginia. Dozens circled Oregon’s state Capitol in their 
> vehicles Friday to protest that state’s stay-at-home order.
>
> In the southern Utah city of St. George, several dozen people 
> protested Wednesday to show their displeasure with the closure of 
> businesses. Organizer Larry Meyers said the event was to assert 
> “God-given, constitutionally-protected rights,” the Spectrum newspaper 
> reported.
>
> Protests were also planned for the weekend in Salt Lake City and 
> Helena, Montana.
>
> The debate is not likely to end soon, with some health experts warning 
> that returning to normal activity too early could lead to a resurgence 
> of the virus. Meanwhile, tempers -- and rhetoric -- is escalating.
>
> In northern Idaho, Republican state Rep. Heather Scott referred to the 
> governor as “Little Hitler” and compared the stay-at-home orders to 
> Nazi Germany during the Holocaust.
>
> “I mean, that’s no different than Nazi Germany, where you had 
> government telling people, ‘You are an essential worker or a 
> nonessential worker,’ and the nonessential workers got put on a 
> train,” Scott told Houston-based podcast host Jess Fields in the 
> interview posted online Thursday.
>
> Local human rights advocates called Scott’s remarks offensive, The 
> Spokesman-Review reported.
>
> “Mass murder and genocide is not the same thing as deciding which 
> businesses should essentially stay open and which should stay closed,” 
> Rabbi Tamar Malino of Spokane’s Temple Beth Shalom said.
>
> More than 1,600 Idaho residents have COVID-19, according to a tally by 
> Johns Hopkins University. At least 41 Idahoans have died.
>
> For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, 
> such as fever and cough, that clear up in two to three weeks. But it 
> can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death for some 
> people, especially older adults and people with existing health problems.
>
>
> ——————————————--
>
> Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .
>
> "Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)
> http://www.MoscowCares.com <http://www.moscowcares.com/>
> Tom Hansen
> Moscow, Idaho
>


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