Governor Ned Lamont has been issuing all sorts of executive orders during the pandemic and these orders are designed to regulate travel and isolation during the lockdown periods. There are now 32 states on the “banned” list in Connecticut and anyone who travels to these states has to submit the proper paperwork when they return.
If these forms are not filled out promptly and the restrictions are not observed, fines are levied. Lamont is letting everyone know that he means business, fining Connecticut residents who have recently returned from Louisiana and Florida. Since they did not fill out the forms when they returned home, they were each slapped with a $1,000 fine.
One of these folks also refused to quarantine for the proper amount of time, earning themselves an additional $1,000 fine in the process. Of course, these fines tend to add up rapidly when they are not paid. “I hate to do it, but we’re going to be serious and show people we’re serious about this,” said the governor.
Each of these men resides in a different county and there’s no immediate connection between them. So how was the determination made? Who decided they are in violation of the rules? Were the fines issued by a governing body and if so, did the accused receive due process? These are all questions that are not being asked by the residents of Connecticut, apparently.
NBC Connecticut took a deeper dive, though. The Department of Public Health is responsible for issuing the fines and it hardly seems appropriate to grant them this amount of power. In Connecticut, they have full authority to issue any fine that they want. Chief Operating Officer Josh Geballe confirmed this in a recent statement.
The most ominous part of the statement should be obvious. These people were fined because of anonymous tips that were given. We would like to believe that a proper investigation was done but who knows at this point? The Democrats are looking to fine anyone who goes against their wishes and that’s why a closer look needs to be taken at how this governor comes to these decisions.
What happens when someone decides to take out whatever issue they have with their neighbor by contacting the Department of Public Health? That’s the last thing that anyone should want. From the looks of it, this is the “new normal” and the Democrats are fully responsible. How are they going to feel when the people that they have empowered are putting massive fines on everyone’s heads?
Let’s face reality here. The governor of Connecticut does not care about providing due process for these fines. Lamont wants his citizens to think that he is being tough on the coronavirus and he does not want to seem like he is giving in to the Republicans. So, in essence, he is fine with attacking anyone who does not agree with what he has to say.
For example, let’s say that a camera catches you running a red light and the resulting ticket is sent to your home. In those instances, you are given the chance to fight the ticket in a court of law. Under Lamont’s system, snitching is being encouraged more than ever before. The rule of law is being replaced by a “honor system” setup that is sure to cause more problems than it actually solves.
The state of Connecticut should probably start hiring investigators who are more impartial than the ones that are in place right now. Executive authority madness is sweeping the nation now that President Trump is empowering states to make their own decisions. Ned Lamont is mad with power and it’s only a matter of time before the lawsuits start to pour in.
He should reconsider now, before anything else happens. These orders are being structured in a way that allows Democrat to take direct aim at their enemies. No one should be willing to tolerate it.
