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.
Republicans are not talking about Trump’s biggest 2024 campaign promise
Federal judge blocks Trump administration fines of up to $1.8M for migrants
Man pleads guilty to 2023 killing of Lauren Heike on Phoenix hiking trail
Watch: US Soccer Player Takes Possibly Worst Dive Ever Caught on Camera After Mexico Player Barely Taps Him
Child Dies After Freak Accident in Playground Tube Slide
Denver man’s escape exposes chilling Tren de Aragua kidnapping plot that lands trio in prison
Former TV anchor who pleaded guilty to killing mother last Halloween gets life sentence
‘Cornell 7’ Member Turns Accusations Around, Says He Was the Victim and Jane Doe Was the Perpetrator
Woman allegedly stabs girl after SUV hits semi as soldiers step in to stop horrific roadside attack
Trump says Putin call coming ‘very soon’ as US tracks suspected plague death in Russia
Ex-CIA official admits to $194 million fraud scheme involving gold bars
Cornell Appoints Former Acting Attorney General Who Was Fired by Trump for Insubordination to Lead Investigation
Foreign adversaries running ‘psyop’ to fuel anti-AI and anti-data center movement, war official says
Veterans of ‘unbearable’ Chinese factory in Ohio detail brutal work conditions amid top Dem’s oversight visit
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Sucks Up to ‘The View’ by Threatening to Dox Trump’s Personal Phone Number
“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.
Republicans are not talking about Trump’s biggest 2024 campaign promise
Federal judge blocks Trump administration fines of up to $1.8M for migrants
Man pleads guilty to 2023 killing of Lauren Heike on Phoenix hiking trail
Watch: US Soccer Player Takes Possibly Worst Dive Ever Caught on Camera After Mexico Player Barely Taps Him
Child Dies After Freak Accident in Playground Tube Slide
Denver man’s escape exposes chilling Tren de Aragua kidnapping plot that lands trio in prison
Former TV anchor who pleaded guilty to killing mother last Halloween gets life sentence
‘Cornell 7’ Member Turns Accusations Around, Says He Was the Victim and Jane Doe Was the Perpetrator
Woman allegedly stabs girl after SUV hits semi as soldiers step in to stop horrific roadside attack
Trump says Putin call coming ‘very soon’ as US tracks suspected plague death in Russia
Ex-CIA official admits to $194 million fraud scheme involving gold bars
Cornell Appoints Former Acting Attorney General Who Was Fired by Trump for Insubordination to Lead Investigation
Foreign adversaries running ‘psyop’ to fuel anti-AI and anti-data center movement, war official says
Veterans of ‘unbearable’ Chinese factory in Ohio detail brutal work conditions amid top Dem’s oversight visit
GOP Sen. Thom Tillis Sucks Up to ‘The View’ by Threatening to Dox Trump’s Personal Phone Number
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.
