Ohio Ban on "Non-Essential Businesses" Is Unconstitutional

Your Constitutional Rights During The Quarantine



...either the Constitution means something, or else it's just some other ink spots on parchment....

If they want to suspend constitutional rights, they need to formally declare martial law.  Otherwise, "guidelines" are only that and have no force of law.

Has there been any enforcement on the stay at home order in Ohio?

There has, the County Health Departments have been overreaching and shutting down plenty of businesses. I know of a set of unmanned car washes that keep getting shut down "Because there isn't anyone there to clean the vacuums between users, and could spread the virus" which is ridiculous.

I know of a restaurant that has had investigators out twice to look into reports of customers sitting while waiting for their order.

It's a bunch of tyrannical nonsense. It's difficult to resist because of food service permits, not to mention blowback from ignorant customers.

The Health department (and all the laws and funding that goes with it needs to be eliminated). Same with the education department.

Someone in GD owes me a pmag.

They seem a little slow, section 23. Dispute Resolution was added a while back specificly to cover that issue.

1851 does a lot of solid work.

Good to hear!

We need a whole lotta PUSH-BACK to this stuff.

King DeWine and Queen Acton are ruling their subjects a bit too much.

Saw this mentioned elsewhere, thought it was relevant

3701.352, Ohio Revised Code, "No person shall violate any rule the director of health or department of health adopts or any order the director or department of health issues under this chapter to prevent a threat to the public caused by a pandemic, epidemic, or bioterrorism event."

Yes but is that contrary to the Ohio Constitution (and federal Constitution if you believe in incorporation, which I don't)?

If Mike DeWine would have had his way while a U.S. senator we would not be allowed to own ARs, so the constitution means nothing to him.

I just hope he does not intend on getting reelected.

Grocery stores should be shut down.

Do you know how many people touch the items, and put them back in a day?

Is anyone sterilizing paper money these days?

Imagine having such a childlike view of the world. It must be wonderful... Also I read all of both of what you posted. The only thing that was illiegal was the canceling of the vote. The rest of the arguments are best summed up as" i think this is wrong because" which is a non-argument. the government has every right to do what they did(besides the voting).

How does the government have the right to close certain businesses, keep others open, and severely restrict others? How does it have the right to deny citizens' association? How does it have the right to close school districts, either public or private?

Agreed,  this whole thing is an exercise in frustration... "right/constitutional" and "legal" are two different things... as much as we refuse to admit it (I'm guilty just as much of this by being less active than I should), this is a monster of our own doing.. by being the good nice guys for decades and not being loud, belligerent and demanding change OR being politically active in office, we allowed policy and laws to be created and the political brotherhood to be established.  

Its hyperbole,  but the only way to fix this short of going insurgent and killing politicians and judges is to get US elected and force change from within.. Is the balance so far tipped that its impossible? I don't know, but God willing I'll either be young enough to put in work during a revolution,  or live long enough to see the pendulum swing far, far back to the right...

I have posted about it before, but it’s absurd that I can’t keep my small retail store open.

Well, part of the business can be open, people can come in to pick up packages that are shipped to the store, but I can’t sell anything retail-wise.

It’s silly because I suggested to the health department that I would like to stay open, but restrict it to one customer at a time and to disinfect after each person leaves.

Grocery stores, home improvement stores, Walmart, etc are all open and see probably thousands of customers each day. There is really no way to maintain social distancing inside of the grocery store. Somehow we are all making it out of the store alive.

I can’t stay open and “ignore” the rules because so many people are looking for anything and anyone “tattle-tale” on.

Let businesses open, if customer’s don’t feel like the business is operating safely, social distancing or wearing masks, they don’t have to patronize that business.

As best I can understand, the stay at home order is based on two things:
1. A concern of overwhelming the medical system with cases of COVID-19
2. A concern of not having effective treatment for COVID-19 patients who present severe cases

Is this correct?

If so, then I'd challenge that we are no longer in a state of emergency (if we ever legitimately were in one in the first place). Our hospitals are not being overrun with cases, and dead bodies are not piling up in hospital corridors and on sidewalks. If people need medical attention, they are able to get it. Additionally, it appears that some effective treatments exist for COVID-19 (not as good as a cure, but treatments nonetheless). Therefore, items 1 and 2 above are no longer valid - which should invalidate any order based upon them as well, right?

DeWine is a fool, no better than Comrade Cuomo or Porky the Pritzker in many ways. And Acton is just like Fauci - another washed-up, has-been bureaucrat who's more concerned about increasing a budget and gaining power than promoting reasonable ideas and bringing our economy back online. (I know, I know... "Tell me what you really think"... right? LOL)

Are you open now? @anonimovaca

Yep, opened last Tuesday when retail was able to open again.

Have had some regular customers back in, but I imagine it will be slow for a while. Some businesses are staying closed longer than they have to, and the way the are allowing certain places to open at a time probably is creating some confusion on what is open and what isn’t.

The financial part of being closed wasn’t that big of a deal, it just bothered me what I see as government overreach, small businesses with low traffic, oh the danger!

Thanks for asking!

https://www.cleveland19.com/2020/05/20/court-ruling-gyms-that-reopen-against-dr-actons-coronavirus-related-stay-safe-ohio-cannot-be-punished/




Seriously, someone in GD owes me a Pmag... lol

https://ohioconstitution.org/ohio-court-forced-closure-of-gyms-unconstitutional/

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 20, 2020

Ohio Court: Forced Closure of Gyms Unconstitutional
Health Department has no authority to close all business or create its own penalties

Painesville, OH – An Ohio Court of Common Pleas Wednesday morning enjoined the Ohio Governor and Director of the Department of Health from “imposing or enforcing penalties solely for non-compliance with the director’s order” against gymnasiums, health clubs, fitness centers, gyms, and workout facilities.

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law’s victory against Defendant Amy Acton comes on behalf of 35 independent gyms across the state, who moved to enjoin the Ohio Department of Health from continuing to enforce its criminalization of even safe gym operations, as implemented through the Director’s various Orders since March.

The ruling by Judge Eugene Lucci of the Lake County Court of Common Pleas explains that private property rights are fundamental rights in Ohio, and that the Ohio Department of Health has both violated those rights and exceeded its own authority in “criminalizing lawful businesses, and imposing strict liability for violations, including severe criminal, civil, and equitable penalties”:  “The director has no statutory authority to close all businesses, including the plaintiffs’ gyms … She has acted in an impermissibly arbitrary, unreasonable, and oppressive manner without any procedural safeguards.”

The ruling further excoriates the Department of Health’s insistence that “one unelected individual could exercise such unfettered power to force everyone to obey impermissibly vague rules without any legislative guidance.”

“Constitutions are written to prevent governments from arbitrarily interfering in citizens’ lives and businesses.  On that front, the call to action is clear:  the Governor and Health Director may no longer impose their own closures and regulations and write their own criminal penalties to enforce those regulations and closures,” explained 1851 Center Executive Director Maurice Thompson.  “We remain available to serve those who are caught in the State’s tangled web of unlawful orders.”

Read the Court’s Order HERE.

The 1851 Center for Constitutional Law is a non-profit, non-partisan legal center dedicated to protecting the constitutional rights of Ohioans from government abuse. The 1851 Center litigates constitutional issues related to property rights, regulation, taxation, and search and seizures.

Special thanks to Tim Cassell at Pinnacle Performance, who helped organize Ohio gyms to challenge government authority, even as other industries’ “leaders” wilted.

Good news.  Now we need something similar for bars and restaurants.

Or better yet, the entire state.

They've been allowed to reopen, doubt the courts will act on that now.

I don't think anything is needed anyways. I can't find anything that authorizes the health director/governor to do what they did.

I'm not too familiar with state laws outside criminal and traffic code, but after some searching, below is the only thing I could find that even comes close to giving the health director the authority to do anything like this. It is also the law referenced by Acton in her order.

http://codes.ohio.gov/orc/3701.13

It defines the health directors powers, and they don't include much of anything in her "order".  I hope the suit concerning gyms is successful and business owners can recover damages. Dewine/Acton need to be held personally accountable.

True story...