Lockdown Protests in States Across America

The Coronavirus lockdown orders have lasted about a month, for most Americans. Patience is stretched thin, and tensions are running high as citizens start to rebel against having their freedom withheld. Maybe it’s a result of the number of Coronavirus cases being lower than previously warned. Perhaps it’s because people feel that local governments have usurped too many of their rights. Cabin fever could be playing a role. Or, possibly, it’s a combination of all those things. But, for whatever reason, the people took to the streets over the last few days demanding a lift on at least some of the restrictions.

Protests have been held with thousands of attendees in various states, including Ohio, Virginia, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina, California, Kentucky, Maryland, Texas, and Washington.

A group called “Liberate Minnesota” took their grievance directly to the governor’s house. Hundreds of protesters gathered in front of Governor Tim Walz’s residence and demanded the reopening of businesses. President Trump tweeted a message which simply read, “LIBERATE MINNESOTA!” Demonstrators honked their car horns and waved flags with messages like “Stop the Shutdown” and “We do not consent.”

Protestors in Maryland practiced social distancing while making their objections known. They stayed inside their vehicles and honked their horns while driving around the Capitol building in Annapolis, demanding Governor Larry Hogan “Reopen Maryland.”

The organizers of the event asked participants to keep messages respectful, and many flew American flags while others wrote their protest messages on their car windows. In a letter explaining the occasion, planners wrote: “We are petitioning our governor, Larry Hogan, to immediately reopen our state’s business, educational and religious institutions.” While COVID-19 is a serious concern for the public, “the economic, social, and educational disruption caused by shutdowns is guaranteed to cause significant, even greater, harm.”

In Columbus, Ohio, folks drove by the Capitol with signs on their vehicles and honked horns in opposition to the lockdown while others gathered on sidewalks. “Open Ohio we don’t need a nanny,” one sign said. Another read, “Those who give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

While President Trump seemed to encourage the protests on Twitter, some politicians argued that loosening the rules could cause COVID-19 to spread further. What do you think – are Americans right to want their freedoms back, or is it too soon?