Met a lot of nice people at the Kathy Barnette funded protest. The protest was held at the Norristown Courthouse, this afternoon. The event went well and was quite peaceful.

It was nice to see a number of political candidates advocating that our rights to free speech and peaceful assembly out weigh Governor Wolf’s “stay at home” order; and the Norristown police force seemed to concur.

When the world first learned of COVID-19 and there was little hard data about it (and there were concerns that it may have been a product of a bio-weapons lab), perhaps it was prudent to attempt a global lock down. The stay at home order was given under the “emergency action” provision of the state constitution. These powers exist so that the governor can address an emergency situation when there isn’t time for the legislature to act.

Now, two months into the emergency, there has been plenty of time for legislature to act. There has also been enough time for the Governor to veto the legislature’s action. A continuation of the emergency action without an actual emergency should no longer be supported. Every day the government has the burden of proof that it’s policy should continue. Given the facts gathered over the last two months, more and more people feel that the stay at home policy is no longer necessary and that less restrictive measures to protect those most at risk would be more appropriate.

I wish more people could have made it to the protest. Media reports of people being arrested for swimming or going to the park, have had a chilling effect. It’s comforting to see that there are people who are willing to stand up for their rights, no matter what.