Is getting together with a few of your buds to throw back several drinks and share some laughs worth going to jail for a month? In Oregon, it better be.
Oregon Governor Kate Brown has issued a two-week coronavirus “freeze.” She didn’t want to use the term “lockdown” because people are opposed to that, so, like any decent politician, she repackaged the “lockdown” and called it something else. “Freeze” is as good as any other substitute, I suppose.
“Freeze” or “lockdown” — the result will be the same if you violate it.
According to The Oregonian, violations of the new order, which prohibits indoor and outdoor gatherings of more than six people from two separate households, amount to misdemeanors.
Those who fail to comply with the restrictions could reportedly be fined $1,250 or placed behind bars for up to a month. People in Oregon faced similar penalties for violating the governor’s stay-at-home order back in March, the paper noted.
Brown made it very clear that she didn’t want to be a tyrant, but because people weren’t obeying her commands, she had no choice.
A spokesperson for the governor told the outlet that Oregon State Police “will be working with local law enforcement to enforce the Governor’s orders, in the same way local law enforcement officers respond to noise complaints for loud parties, for example, and issue citations.”
“For the last eight months, I have been asking Oregonians to follow the letter and the spirit of the law and we have not chosen to engage law enforcement. At this point in time, unfortunately, we have no other option,” the governor reportedly said over the weekend.
So when there’s no other option you threaten to bring the jackboot down on people’s necks? Governor Brown is auditioning for a role in Joe Biden’s cabinet. I’m sure most Democrats will look favorably on her whip-cracking.
But is it a “freeze” or a “lockdown”? You decide.
Under Brown’s temporary freeze, which is set to last until early December, restaurants and bars will be reducing their businesses to takeout and delivery options. Gyms, museums and skating rinks will also be required to close during the period.
The move comes as the state has reported a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks.
If it looks like a lockdown, walks like a lockdown, and quacks like a lockdown, I guess it’s a freeze — at least, in a liberal fantasy land where I’m sure the governor is congratulating herself on being so clever. But sending people to jail for partying is being far too clever for most of us.
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