Dear Editor:
New Mexico is at a defining moment. With the best of intentions to stop the spread of COVID-19 across our state, Governor Lujan Grisham has issued several public health orders that have effectively shut our state down. While it is difficult to estimate the effectiveness of the stay-at-home order in slowing the virus, there is no doubt her public orders have created an economic crisis unlike any in our state's history. Record levels of unemployment, small businesses being forced to close, historic declines in the price of oil, and unprecedented restrictions placed on people's civil rights have shared the headlines with uneven growth of COVID-19 cases and deaths across New Mexico's 33 counties.
No one is questioning the Governor's resolve to fight COVID-19 or her authority to issue public health orders. What many New Mexicans and I do question is the Governor's unwillingness to strike a better balance between protecting public health, preserving our economic livelihoods, and defending our civil liberties. Sadly, in too many cases, the Governor and her media staff say there is no option to her nearly obsessive efforts to eradicate COVD-19. In fact, any questioning of her actions is immediately met with outrageous comments by the Governor's office that such doubting voices are part of a death cult.
While the Governor has the authority to combat a public health emergency, the law is clear that such authority is not unlimited, and she must manage public health emergencies in the least restrictive manner that protects all of our civil rights and liberties.
Yet, after more than a month of stay-at-home orders and forced closures of all businesses deemed non-essential by the Governor's staff, the Governor has failed to adjust her orders to protect our personal liberties. In fact, she has done the opposite by broadly extending them. Further, issuing orders which apply to every county, several of which literally have no cases of COVID-19, is the very definition of violating the civil rights and liberties our elected leaders are obligated to protect.
The Governor's unwillingness to adapt her orders to balance protecting both health and safety along with our civil rights is a direct attack on the very citizens she is charged with protecting. Does locking down the entire state when .1036 percent of the state's population have tested positive for COVID-19 seem rational? Does requiring small businesses to close while allowing corporate, big box stores to stay open make any sense? Is treating Bernalillo County with nearly 600 cases the same as Lincoln County with only 2 cases steeped in any real science?
These questions have never been answered by the Governor. Yet, it is clear her one-size-fits-all approach to combating COVID-19 needs to be adjusted to find a real balance between the protection of our health and the defense of our civil rights. I am confident we can protect against the unwanted spread of the virus, while also protecting our civil liberties and restarting our economy.
New Mexicans are resourceful and they understand that achieving all three goals is not just desirable, but essential if we are ever going to return life back to normal. The measures taken by the Lujan Grisham Administration should not be taken lightly as the consequences of these actions will be felt for years to come. We agree steps must be taken to combat the spread of COVID-19 and every effort must be made to protect the most vulnerable in our communities. However, we must never lose sight of the very foundations that make us who we are. Our civil rights are essential and should be treated as such.
Representative Zachary Cook, Ruidoso