County hears citizen push back against ‘sanctuary’ from State COVID-19 public health regulations

At its first meeting of the month on Tuesday, February 2, the Warren County Board of Supervisors heard extensive pushback to a citizen initiative forwarded on January 19 opposing State-implemented precautions against the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus pandemic. With both the aftermath of a two-day snowstorm and ongoing County pandemic social distancing guidelines impacting attendance, Board Clerk Emily Ciarrocchi was tasked with reading 15 emails or letters on the so-called “Constitutional Sanctuary” initiative brought forward by a large crowd two weeks earlier.

Dealing with the aftermath of two days of snow and ongoing social distancing parameters some want them to drop, the county supervisors played to a nearly empty WCGC meeting room Tuesday, Feb. 2. Royal Examiner Photos by Roger Bianchini

Fourteen of the 15 citizen statements representing 20 people – several letters were signed by multiple people – expressed strong opposition to the initiative. At issue, most asserted, was the anti-science, anti-medicine, anti-statistical, anti-government attitude expressed in the initiative against State-ordered social distancing, mask wearing and crowd limitations presented within a “personal liberties guaranteed by the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions” framework.

One letter received, from Thomas McFadden Sr., supported the COVID-19 “sanctuary” initiative; and one speaker present, Gary Kushner, added his voice in support of an end to limitations on public behavior and business practices related to public health guidelines. Kushner even carried forward the notion that the COVID-19 pandemic was an Obama Administration-fueled Chinese plot to weaken America economically.

Gary Kushner was the lone public comments speaker present to deliver his message. The message was support of the ‘Constitutional Sanctuary’ initiative against pandemic safety precautions handed down from the Democratic governor’s office.

But as to the 20 urging the supervisors to reject a second community “sanctuary” resolution against state law, the issue focused, not only on personal freedom, but life and death with minimal political stereotyping. That focus was stated as the reported U.S. death toll rapidly approaches 450,000 in one year – 94,000 in January, the deadliest single month of the pandemic in the U.S.

In Warren County there have been 37 deaths out of 2,013 reported cases. That is a 1.84% death rate that is higher than both the state (6,474 total deaths at 1.28% of reported cases) and national (438,035 total deaths at 1.69% of reported cases) ratio of deaths to known cases, as one writer on the issue pointed out. And as Royal Examiner has previously reported, 25 of those county deaths have occurred in the past three months with the medically predicted Phase 3 and post-Christmas holiday surge.

If proponents of the State COVID-19 restrictions “sanctuary” are worried about personal freedoms and liberty, so were the opponents addressing the supervisors on February 2. Their general message was “What about my right to believe in science, medicine, statistics and governmental efforts to limit the spread of worldwide pandemic that has claimed over 2.2 million lives, as well as my individual liberty to be protected against a highly contagious virus as best possible when in public situations?”

While some county citizens dismiss the worldwide Coronavirus pandemic as a hoax unworthy of safety precautions seen as infringements on their personal liberty, others believe those precautions are all separating life from death for many Americans and county residents, including the skeptics themselves.

Of the “sanctuary initiative, the first letter read into the record from Jean Mary Taylor said, “My impression is this flies in the face of reason and good sense, and I felt you should know that there are folks in Warren County who fully support mask wearing, and all efforts to keep us safe. While I agree that many jobs have been lost to COVID, I can’t imagine new businesses would want to come to a county that doesn’t believe in science or law.”

Brian Wilkinson wrote a far-reaching letter addressing fundamental questions being raised on both sides of the issue: “There are so many small things each of us can do that will contribute to efforts to defeat the virus – many of them are outlined in Executive Order 72. And now this group seems instead to be suggesting that we should simply let the virus run its course – no masks, no social distancing, and no restrictions of any kind on how people interact with one another. How on earth does that help? What message does that send to families who have lost loved ones?” Wilkinson asked before continuing, “And what does that demonstrate in terms of caring for the frontline workers in shops, hospitals, and other public and services who are putting their lives at risk on our behalf each and every day of the week?

“By refusing to even observe basic COVID safety precautions such as mask wearing at the January 19 meeting they have sent a clear message – they really don’t care!”

He then addressed some of the political stereotyping tied to the January 19 presentation to the supervisors in support of the pandemic “sanctuary” argument, as well as one personal complaint.

“This is not the time to be taking cheap shots at our neighbors by describing their efforts to stay safe as ‘socialist distancing’ or by describing our country as ‘the land of the imprisoned and the home of the chickens.’

“I am sorry a mother of three children is ‘Tired of getting harassed over the mask thing.’ But when that same mother suggests that ‘People who are not sick should not be the ones that have to go through all these extra steps to go out in public’ my sympathy for her dissipates fairly quickly.

“If we do nothing else, please can we stop the denigration of people who are trying every day to do the simple things that will help to keep themselves and their neighbors safe,” Wilkinson added, before addressing the governor’s executive order at the root of much of the local discontent and the extremist rhetoric accompanying it.

“Their core argument seems to be that Executive Order 72 (which requires that Virginians should stay at home from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m., wear masks in indoor and outdoor settings, and limit social gatherings to 10) infringes on the freedoms enumerated in the U.S. and Virginia Constitutions, and the U.S. and Virginia Bill of Rights. One person at the January 19 meeting said his intent was “To seek freedom for Warren County that would allow it ‘to be a sanctuary from the reign of terror that Governor Northam has imposed upon the citizens of Virginia.’

“Reign of terror? Really?? Anyone listening to such an argument should bear in mind that the Virginia Supreme Court has already dismissed several lawsuits challenging the Governor’s COVID Restrictions,” Wilkinson pointed out.

Board Clerk Emily Ciarrocchi was tasked with presenting the public concerns of 21 citizens expressed in 15 messages submitted for public comment on Feb. 2 – Read on, Emily.

Another writer wondered if such municipal “sanctuary” from state law resolutions might spell an end to state financial assistance on any projects the county government might qualify for in the future?

“Would our board really create a ‘mask-free sanctuary’ for a small vocal anti-science group and thereby place the lives of everyone else in the county at risk? I surely hope not,” Christine and Fred Andreae added to the debate.

Janet Brome added her voice, not only to opposition to the COVID-19 pandemic “sanctuary” resolution, but to two other issues as well: “Please take into consideration my stance on recent/upcoming issues, 1/ No naming of a street for Trump or anything he stood for; 2/ No declaring Warren County a ‘Sanctuary for the Constitution’ – No one has the right to spread a deadly disease to others; and 3/ Do repeal the act that encourages the shooting of coyotes.”

The county supervisors, like the Front Royal Town Council, approved a “2^nd Amendment Sanctuary” resolution against proposed Democratic gun control legislation about a year ago. How they deal with this counter movement to medical and scientifically determined public health pandemic guidelines established at the State Executive level remains to be seen.

Click here to see the rest of the public comments in the county video and see Royal Examiner’s related story – “Dozens urge Supervisors to adopt COVID restrictions ‘sanctuary’ resolution” – for more detail on the other side of the story.

In other business, the board heard reports from the County Department of Social Services and the Virginia Cooperative Extension Office; approved a six-item Consent Agenda, including one coyote bounty, as presented; and adjourned to closed session on the Economic Development Authority litigation, after which there was no announcement. A brief five-to-ten-minute work session on VDOT-related matters resulted in the supervisors being told to develop a list of five preferred road projects.