Freedom Dying in Idaho: Woman Faces Possible Prison Term for Holding Yard Sale
A woman in Rathdrum, Idaho, is facing the possibility of a $1,000 fine and up to six months in jail for having a yard sale.
The Rathdrum Police Department said Christa Thompson violated the state’s coronavirus shutdown order.
“A garage sale/yard sale is not an essential business and should not be open for business,” the department said in a Facebook post Friday.
Peter Thompson, Christa’s husband, provided context to the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
“The family had a significant financial incentive to deal with the belongings of Peter’s late father: After the death, the family had taken over his storage-unit payments, which were about $1,000 a month,” the foundation said in a post on its website Saturday. “That sum is, according to Peter, a significant burden for a one-income family with six kids.”
The police department’s Facebook post drew plenty of criticism.
“Rathdrum PD should be ashamed,” April Lawson said. “Let people have a choice. If I choose to stop in at a yard sale that’s on me.”
“I hope this family can find a good constitutional lawyer and sue the Police Department for their disregard to our constitution of the state of ldaho and the constitution of the United States,” Calvin Nolan wrote.
“Thank you for keeping our streets safer and ridding us of this dangerous criminal enterprise,” Justin Cottrell said. “I hope you’ll go after those rogue lemonade stands and kids peddling their school fundraisers next. We must keep our streets clean of anything resembling a happy, thriving productive society. You guys earned a gold star today.”
Unfortunately, a second Idaho incident has come to light, this time involving a mother who was with her daughter at a playground when she was arrested.
Is the COVID-19 pandemic setting a dangerous precedent where those in authority infringe on our liberty under the guise of the “greater good”? It sure looks that way.
Gun rights might be another victim of such a mentality.
I have a confession: I used to doubt my fellow conservatives when they said Democratic politicians were coming for our guns. I thought those concerns resembled nothing more than hyperbole.
Not anymore.
The Democrats’ agenda has taken a sharp lefthand turn. Some politicians now push gun bans with grandfathered firearms ownership.
The Democrats consistently attempt to ban certain firearms based on puzzling criteria, seemingly thinking we can reduce gun violence with legislation that focuses on magazine capacity and cosmetic features.
Just imagine former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke’s gun philosophy coupled with a renewed call for government overreach.
We live in a time where someone could go to jail for things she did while staying at home during, oddly enough, a stay-at-home order.
This pandemic can act as a cautionary tale: You don’t “care less” about human suffering if you become concerned about individual freedom.
Live and let live. That philosophy seemed simple, wonderful and libertarian all at once.
Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
We see growing signs that some people are willing to sacrifice some liberty in the name of safety.
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