News Opinons Politics

California Sheriff: ‘I Refuse to Make Criminals Out of Business Owners’

Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco reaffirmed his stance on not enforcing stringent stay-at-home orders, telling the Riverside County Board of Supervisors this week that he refuses to “make criminals out of business owners, single moms, and otherwise healthy individuals for exercising their constitutional rights.”

Eight weeks ago, officials, including Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) “participated in something never done before in our nation’s history,” Bianco began.

Government “ordered residents into their homes, closed their businesses, made them wear masks, forbid them from going to church, and eliminated constitutional freedoms put in place over 200 years ago,” he explained.


“In the name of a public health crisis, our civil liberties and constitutional protections were placed on hold,” he continued.

Officials, Bianco said, have asked a lot of residents over the last two months as part of a greater effort to flatten the curve and prevent hospitals from being completely overwhelmed by coronavirus patients.


Driver passed out as self-driving car kept moving—police find more than a medical emergency inside
Johnson accuses Democrats of taking government hostage over ‘crazy’ immigration agenda
Mamdani endorses planned NYC ‘No Kings’ rally, derides ICE as ‘rogue agency’
Secret Service Agent Shoots Himself While Working on Jill Biden’s Detail
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: ‘Lovers’ Lane’ breakthrough, Gilgo Beach suspect’s plea, Jimmy Gracey’s ruling
Mike Johnson splits from Thune with eight-week DHS funding bill
Hollywood Star Sounds Off About Celeb Politics: You Make ‘Half Your Audience Despise You’
Trump will ask Congress to pass additional farm relief amid Iran war price spikes
Judge freezes Trump admin move against AI firm, fueling battle over security authority
Greg Bovino is writing a book to ‘memorialize’ the Border Patrol officers on the front lines of Trump’s deportation operation
‘Ship has sailed’: This is what Dems won’t get in DHS deal after shunning GOP
Watch: Trump Roasts Fox News Polls While Live on the Network, Calls for Co-Host’s Removal
Hackers tied to Iran breach FBI director’s personal email and post private images
WATCH: Scalise’s Staff Found the DHS Quote Hakeem Jeffries Hoped Was Gone Forever, Now Scalise Is on the Floor Reading It to the Whole World
Secret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden injured in ‘negligent discharge’ at Philadelphia airport

See also  Jewish voters feel ‘politically homeless’ as antisemitism rises on both sides

“It worked,” he said, listing a series of statistics:

What isn’t being emphasized is that 2,000 of the 4,300 people who have tested positive have already recovered and returned to work. What that means is that out of two and a half million people in Riverside County, we have only 2,300 residents positive with this virus. Statistically, that is less than a tenth of one percent.

Forthcoming decisions from officials should be based on “facts and data, not protections and fear,” he continued, stressing that residents do not need to live in fear and noting that the risk remains low for people without serious medical conditions. However, he urged at-risk residents to remain at home.

Bianco said he did not enforce the stay-at-home order from the beginning, partly because he “trusted our residents’ ability to do the right thing without fear of being arrested” and emphasized that he continues to hold that position:

I knew they could be trusted to act as responsible adults, and I was correct. As we continue, I will reinforce my position. Not only do we not have the resources to enforce unreasonable orders, I refuse to make criminals out of business owners, single moms, and otherwise healthy individuals for exercising their constitutional rights. I believe Riverside County residents are responsible enough to proceed cautiously.


Driver passed out as self-driving car kept moving—police find more than a medical emergency inside
Johnson accuses Democrats of taking government hostage over ‘crazy’ immigration agenda
Mamdani endorses planned NYC ‘No Kings’ rally, derides ICE as ‘rogue agency’
Secret Service Agent Shoots Himself While Working on Jill Biden’s Detail
Fox News True Crime Newsletter: ‘Lovers’ Lane’ breakthrough, Gilgo Beach suspect’s plea, Jimmy Gracey’s ruling
Mike Johnson splits from Thune with eight-week DHS funding bill
Hollywood Star Sounds Off About Celeb Politics: You Make ‘Half Your Audience Despise You’
Trump will ask Congress to pass additional farm relief amid Iran war price spikes
Judge freezes Trump admin move against AI firm, fueling battle over security authority
Greg Bovino is writing a book to ‘memorialize’ the Border Patrol officers on the front lines of Trump’s deportation operation
‘Ship has sailed’: This is what Dems won’t get in DHS deal after shunning GOP
Watch: Trump Roasts Fox News Polls While Live on the Network, Calls for Co-Host’s Removal
Hackers tied to Iran breach FBI director’s personal email and post private images
WATCH: Scalise’s Staff Found the DHS Quote Hakeem Jeffries Hoped Was Gone Forever, Now Scalise Is on the Floor Reading It to the Whole World
Secret Service agent assigned to Jill Biden injured in ‘negligent discharge’ at Philadelphia airport

See also  Duffy, Hochul, Mamdani come together after LaGuardia plane crash: ‘Politics fade away’

The original projections and fears that caused orders to be put into place in the first place, he added, have been “proven wrong.”

“There cannot be a new normal,” he warned, citing the country’s “fundamental freedoms of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

“Any new normal is a direct attack on the basic rights, which set us apart and make us the greatest country in the world,” he added.

On Tuesday, Gov. Newsom warned that, despite the state gradually entering into the next phase of economic recovery, California will not return to normal until a vaccine is developed and available.

“We’re not going back to normal. It’s a new normal with adaptations and modifications, until we get to immunity and a vaccine,” he said during Tuesday’s press briefing — something some experts caution may never come to fruition.

Story cited here.

Share this article:
Share on Facebook
Facebook
Tweet about this on Twitter
Twitter