Oregon Governor Kate Brown has imposed a two week rule on indoor and outdoor gatherings in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19.
The rules include the limit of six people from two households that can gather at any time, including Thanksgiving Day. Governor Brown has encouraged neighbors to call the police on households that violate the rules.
Oddly, Oregon Lawmakers have said nothing about the mass gatherings that have looted and rioted over the past several months.
In Oregon, you can be jailed for having too many people over for Thanksgiving.
But if you want to riot and loot in Portland, no sweat!
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) November 16, 2020
“For the last eight months I have been asking Oregonians to follow the letter and the spirit of the law and we have not chosen to engage law enforcement,” Brown said Friday. “At this point in time, unfortunately, we have no other option.”
Violators could face up to 30 days in jail, up to $1,250 in fines, or both, the Oregonian reported. Brown said she would work with state police and local law enforcement to encourage Oregonians to comply with her mandate.
Fox News reports that the order does not specifically call out protests but also allows faith-based gatherings of up to 25 people indoors and 50 people outdoors.
Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a frequent critic of government mandates related to COVID-19, weighed in on Brown’s directive.
“In Oregon, you can be jailed for having too many people over for Thanksgiving,” he tweeted Monday. “But if you want to riot and loot in Portland, no sweat!”
The newly-elected chairwoman for the Clackamas County Board of Commissioners, Tootie Smith, posted on social media that she plans to invite “as many friends and family as I can find” for the holiday.
Radical leftist Governor of Oregon is ordering no more than 6 people can gather for Thanksgiving. Joe Biden says only 5!
Radical Governor is even threatening JAIL TIME for getting your family together at Thanksgiving.
This is ABSURD leftist control. Not the American way!
— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) November 16, 2020
“She [Gov. Brown] wants to arrest law abiding citizens in their homes for eating dinner that is the most ridiculous public policy I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been in politics since 1988,” Smith said in an interview online, according to KATU-TV.
Stan Pulliam, mayor of Sandy, Oregon, told the news station his city shouldn’t be treated like Portland.
“For those most vulnerable, they should stay home and they should take precautions. They should order their groceries at home,” he said. “But for those of us who are not in that vulnerable category, who aren’t as nervous and scared to go out and are willing to take precautions: social distancing, masks. Let’s all do our part to get this economy going.”