There are many precautions to prevent an elected official from overstepping their power in office, but California Gov. Gavin Newsom has been treading that line with his most recent curfew order.
The curfew was put into effect Saturday night and will last until Dec. 21. It is set to go from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and will affect 41 out of the state’s 58 counties, including Sacramento County.
Gov. Newsom’s ridiculous curfew order that was enforced on Saturday adds to the countless amount of reasons that Californians are trying to recall him from office.
Many Californians including myself are outraged and irritated by Gov. Newsom’s newest enforcement. He also issued directives earlier this year that interfere with state laws and Sutter County Superior Court Judge Sarah Heckman ruled his executive orders as “an unconstitutional exercise of legislative power,” according to KTLA5.
This new curfew order is just another stain on his resume as local businesses start to go out of business and leave employees jobless.
Newsom’s new mandates have been hurting small businesses throughout the year and causing those businesses to either cut employees or shut down for good. His mandates have not proven beneficial as coronavirus cases have continued to skyrocket to 1.15 million in California this past month, putting Sacramento County into the purple tier, the most restrictive tier.
He has continued to enforce these new coronavirus mandates but refuses to follow his own orders by allowing his own winery in Napa to remain open to customers and going to a dinner party without a mask and social distancing earlier this month.
This new curfew is just another one of Newsom’s mandates in attempts to slow the spread of coronavirus and doesn’t seem to serve that great of a purpose, other than closing businesses and leaving people without jobs.
Newsom’s mandates may be all that he can do against the virus in an attempt to protect the citizens of California however, this restriction will be very difficult for officers to enforce and cause more risks to arise upon public and law enforcement.
Many citizens are also confused about who is and isn’t going to enforce the nighttime curfew and wonder how exactly police will go about enforcing the new ordinance.
While some county officers will be enforcing the new statewide curfew, Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said that his officers won’t be in compliance with Newsom’s month-long curfew, according to CBS Sacramento.
The curfew also increases the chances of more police altercations with civilians that might be heading home after work. Gov. Newsom is expecting officers to try and enforce a curfew on an already stressed and confused California public, along with having them get involved in more stops and confrontations over the new restriction.
It is unnecessary to waste police departments’ time enforcing such a mandate and expecting them to be able to control the spread of the coronavirus. It also puts officers more at risk, not only from altercations but by potentially exposing them to people who may have contracted coronavirus or spreading it themselves.
The curfew also puts more stress on essential employees who already have a lot on their plates this year. Many essential employees work late hours and normally get off around the time that the curfew is active.
Recently, Californians have been hit hard with restrictions that don’t work and this curfew is just another one that will fail to do any good.
Newsom has overstepped his powers as a state official and his recent curfew order is just another add-on to Californian’s distress and uneasiness about their future health and job security.