Conservatives have criticized Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's stay-at-home orders last week as too draconian and stripping them of their constitutional rights, NBC News reported Tuesday.
Michigan has been one of the states hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, and Whitmer's order both extended a previous one until the end of this month and made it stricter in a bid to contain the pandemic. Business restrictions were tightened, and residents are not allowed to travel within the state to their vacation homes or use a motor boat.
Those protesting the move have signed petitions to have her recalled, joined Facebook groups seeking the order's curtailment, and panned a demonstration for Wednesday.
Whitmer, a Democrat, has pushed back against the criticism, explaining, although she understood the frustration of those who have to shut down their livelihood, the stringent restrictions are needed to prevent the outbreak from spreading beyond the Detroit area to more rural parts of the state.
The Michigan Conservative Coalition and Michigan Freedom Fund have called for a protest on Wednesday in which demonstrators will surround the state Capitol in their cars, honk horns and cause a traffic jam in order to express displeasure at her "erratic, unilateral orders that threaten Michiganders' economic existence," USA Today reported.
The governor's new order has been slammed for its inconsistencies, such as permitting the sale of lottery tickets at stores larger than 50,000 square feet, but not paint or gardening tools, and allowing non-Michigan residents to travel to their cottages in the northern part of the state, but not state residents to do the same.
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.