Governor has given civil rights short shrift
Shutdown orders jeopardize New Mexico’s economy and violates our individual liberties
New Mexico is at a standstill. With the intention to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the governor issued several public health orders that have shut our state down. While it is difficult to estimate the effectiveness of the stay-at-home order in slowing the virus, there is no doubt her public orders have created an economic crisis unlike any in our state’s history. Record levels of unemployment, small businesses being forced to close, historic declines in the price of oil, and crushing restrictions placed on people’s civil rights have shared the headlines with uneven growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths across New Mexico’s 33 counties.
I’ve never questioned the governor’s resolve to fight COVID-19, or her authority to issue public health orders. But what many New Mexicans and I do question is the governor’s unwillingness to strike a better balance between protecting public health, preserving our economic livelihoods and defending civil liberties. Sadly, the governor and her media staff say there is no option to her nearly obsessive efforts to eradicate COVD19. In fact, any questioning of her actions is immediately met with outrageous comments by the Governor’s Office that such doubting voices are part of a death cult.
While the governor has the authority to combat a public health emergency, the law is clear that such authority is not unlimited, and she must manage public health emergencies in the least restrictive manner that protects all of our civil rights and liberties. So far, she has failed to strike the balance between protecting our public health and defending our civil liberties as she’s required by law to do.
After several weeks of stay-at-home orders and closures of all businesses deemed nonessential, the governor still refuses to protect our individual liberties. In fact, she has done the opposite by broadly extending them. Further, issuing orders that apply to every county, several of which literally have no cases of COVID-19, is the very definition of violating the civil liberties our elected leaders are obligated to protect.
The governor’s unwillingness to adapt her orders to balance protecting both health and safety along with our civil rights is a direct attack on the very citizens she is charged with protecting. Did locking down the entire state when 0.1036% of the state’s population had tested positive for COVID-19 seem rational? Did requiring small businesses to close while allowing corporate, big-box stores to stay open make any sense? Is treating Bernalillo County with nearly 600 cases the same as Lincoln County with only two cases steeped in any real science? Does mandating the use of face masks really prevent the spread of a virus?
These questions have never been answered by the governor. Yet, it is clear her one-size-fits-all approach to combating COVID-19 needs to be adjusted to balance the protection of our health and the defense of our civil rights. I am confident we can protect against the spread of the virus, while also protecting our civil liberties and restarting our economy.
New Mexicans are resourceful and understand that achieving all three goals is essential if we are ever going to return to normal. The measures taken by the governor should not be taken lightly as the consequences of these actions will be felt for years to come. We agree steps must be taken to combat the spread of COVID-19 and every effort must be made to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. However, we must never lose sight of the foundations that make us who we are. Our civil rights are essential and should be treated as such.