[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 955 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
116th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. RES. 955
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in response
to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governors and local officials across the
Nation have abused their authority by infringing on the constitutional
rights of Americans, ordering private businesses to close, requiring
citizens to stay in their homes, and imposing draconian punishments for
violations.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
May 8, 2020
Mr. Biggs (for himself, Mr. Crawford, Mr. LaMalfa, Mr. Wright, Mr.
Harris, Mr. Perry, Mr. Hice of Georgia, Mrs. Lesko, and Mr. Gohmert)
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee
on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
RESOLUTION
Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that in response
to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governors and local officials across the
Nation have abused their authority by infringing on the constitutional
rights of Americans, ordering private businesses to close, requiring
citizens to stay in their homes, and imposing draconian punishments for
violations.
Whereas in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, Governors and local officials
across the Nation have abused their authority by infringing on the
constitutional rights of all Americans, ordering private businesses to
close, requiring citizens to stay in their homes, and imposing draconian
punishments for violations;
Whereas these officials picked winners and losers using subjective rationale to
determine which businesses and activities are essential to the public
and prohibiting the purchase of products they do not believe to be life
sustaining;
Whereas more than 33 million Americans have lost their jobs and filed for
unemployment over the last 7 weeks;
Whereas demand for assistance from food banks, reports of suicide, drug and
alcohol abuse, child abuse, and domestic violence have dramatically
increased during the shutdown;
Whereas Americans across the country are calling on leaders to provide relief
through reopening the economy;
Whereas many leaders are rebuffing the demands of the people and imposing heavy-
handed punishments on individuals trying to provide for their families;
Whereas, on March 22, 2020, Dallas County, Texas, ordered hair salons, nail
salons, barbershops, and other businesses determined to be nonessential
to indefinitely close;
Whereas Shelley Luther, owner of Salon A la Mode in Dallas, Texas, followed the
order and closed her business, but, after unsuccessfully applying for
Small Business Administration loans and unemployment insurance, decided
it was essential to the well-being of her family and her employees to
reopen on April 24, 2020;
Whereas the salon employed security guards to manage incoming and outgoing
customers, set service stations six feet apart, requested customers
remain in their car until their appointments, required everyone to wear
a facemask, required stylists to change gloves after each customer, and
took the temperatures of customers;
Whereas, on April 24, 2020, only a few hours after opening, Shelley Luther
received a citation and cease and desist letter ordering Salon A la Mode
to shut down;
Whereas, on April 28, 2020, Dallas County Judge Eric Moye issued a temporary
restraining order after Salon A la Mode remained open;
Whereas, on May 5, 2020, Judge Eric Moye ruled that Shelley Luther defied county
and State orders by reopening Salon A la Mode and held her in criminal
and civil contempt;
Whereas Judge Moye called Shelley Luther's actions selfish and attempted to
coerce her into shutting down Salon A la Mode from May 5 to May 8 by
assessing a $500 fine for each day of operation in violation of the
State order, rather than imposing jail time;
Whereas Shelley Luther rebuked Judge Moye's offer, stating, ``I have to disagree
with you, sir, when you say that I am selfish because feeding my kids is
not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they'd
rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important
than kids being fed, then please go ahead with your decision. But I'm
not going to shut the salon.'';
Whereas Judge Moye subsequently ordered Shelley Luther to both pay the $500
daily fines and imposed seven days of jail time;
Whereas prior to Shelley Luther's sentence, Dallas County released about 1,000
prison inmates back into the community to help reduce the risk of
transmission of COVID-19 inside its facilities;
Whereas Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton called out the hypocrisy and
outrageousness of Judge Moye's ruling in a letter to the judge, stating,
``I find it outrageous and out of touch that during this national
pandemic, a judge, in a county that actually released hardened criminals
for fear of contracting COVID-19, would jail a mother for operating her
hair salon in an attempt to put food on her family's table.'';
Whereas there are numerous reports of Americans' civil liberties being violated
since States began imposing stay-at-home orders;
Whereas the Governor of Michigan prohibited large, open retailers from selling
gardening supplies, which would allow Americans to safely grow their own
food at home, saying, ``If you're not buying food or medicine or other
essential items, you should not be going to the store.'';
Whereas, on April 2, 2020, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department arrested a
man for paddle boarding alone in Malibu, California, and he faces a fine
of $1,000 or six months in jail;
Whereas, on April 8, 2020, Temple Baptist Church in Greenville, Mississippi, was
cited by police for holding a drive-in worship service at which church
members remained in their cars with their windows rolled up and listened
to their pastor over the radio, while nearby drive-in restaurants were
simultaneously allowed to serve food to customers;
Whereas Rick Savage, owner of Sunday River Brewing Company in Bethel, Maine, was
stripped of his State health and liquor licenses for opening his
restaurant on May 1, 2020, the date Maine's initial restrictions were
scheduled to end, despite implementing social distancing practices;
Whereas, on May 1, 2020, 32 people were arrested in Sacramento, California, for
exercising their First Amendment right to protest stay-at-home
restrictions;
Whereas even as some States begin easing restrictions, some Governors are
placing strict limitations on group size until a vaccine or effective
treatment is widely available, including limiting churches from hosting
gatherings for more than 50 people; and
Whereas the United States of America was founded on the ideal that all Americans
``are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that
among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness'': Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) finds that many of the orders issued by State and local
officials infringe on the constitutional rights of Americans
and impose economic restrictions based on subjective views of
which businesses and activities are essential and which are
not;
(2) finds that States and localities should not make
criminals out of individuals attempting to save their business
and support their families and employees by operating an
otherwise legal business and following recommended social
distancing practices;
(3) condemns the decisions of State and local leaders to
become the referee of the economy by picking winners and
losers;
(4) calls on Attorney General William Barr to review all
restricting orders issued by State and local leaders and to act
against those that infringe on Americans' constitutional or
statutory protections; and
(5) calls upon States to restore the liberty and
responsibility that every American inherently possesses.
<all>