Four badass sheriffs in New York state refused last week to enforce Governor Cuomo’s COVID thanksgiving mandates and told people not to worry about the size of their gatherings:
Sheriffs from Erie, Fulton, Saratoga and Washington counties have come forward saying they will not enforce rules released last week by Cuomo that limit indoor gatherings to 10 people, including for the holidays.
“With regard to the Thanksgiving Executive Order, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office will NOT be enforcing it against our County residents. Frankly, I am not sure it could sustain a Constitutional challenge in Court for several reasons including your house is your castle. And as a Sheriff with a law degree I couldn’t in good faith attempt to defend it [in] Court, so I won’t,” wrote Richard Giardino on the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.
Erie County Sheriff Timothy B. Howard, meanwhile, wrote, “I have no plans to utilize my office’s resources or Deputies to break up the great tradition of Thanksgiving dinner.”
In his statement, Howard said his office is respecting the “sanctity of your home” and encouraged people to “follow your heart and act responsibly.”
Sheriffs Michael Zurlo of Saratoga County and Jeff Murphy of Washington County both made similar statements, saying what happens inside people’s homes is beyond their jurisdiction.
These four sheriffs are exactly right. The Constitution doesn’t support the fascist enforcement of Cuomo’s dictates on what people do in their own homes and they are doing the right thing by standing up for it.
But the petty tyrant who runs the state of New York wasn’t happy about this and trashed them in a presser yesterday, vowing not to help them in the future and calling them ‘dictators’ for not enforcing his mandates:
THE HILL – New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) responded angrily Monday to sheriffs in the state who said they would not be enforcing COVID-19 restrictions that limit indoor gatherings, including during the upcoming holidays.
“This is an emotional time, political time. Everybody has their own strongly held opinion. Right. You have a strongly held opinion that says, ‘COVID is all an overreaction. It’s a hoax. I’m not wearing a mask. I’m not following these rules.’ You have sheriffs upstate who have said, ‘I’m not going to enforce the law,’” Cuomo said during a press briefing.
“I believe that law enforcement officer violates his or her constitutional duty. I don’t consider them a law enforcement officer. Because you don’t have the right to pick laws that you think you will enforce, and you don’t enforce laws that you don’t agree with. Right. That’s not a law enforcement officer. That’s a dictator,” he added.
“God bless you,” Cuomo added. “But don’t ask me for help.”
The governor said what happens in people’s homes is absolutely the government’s business.
“Laws apply in your home. Domestic violence applies in your home. Drug laws apply in your home. Yes, it does,” he said.
Pointing to case numbers rising ahead the holiday, Cuomo stressed that the actions of one person have the potential to endanger many others.
“You want to be able to act irresponsibly but then endanger the ambulance driver and endanger the nurse and endanger the doctor … because of your actions. It’s not like your actions only affect you,” he said.
Governors like Cuomo are abusing their authority by using the pandemic to put unconstitutional burdens on people. If they want to make recommendations, that’s one thing. But to issue fascist edicts and expect law enforcement to violate the Constitution by enforcing them should be reason enough to have Cuomo thrown out on his keister.