SC Representatives speak up for the people at Freedom Rally

“And right now I hope the people of South Carolina understand: we have a defacto king.” said, Dr. Matthew Clark.

Protesters assembled on the North steps of the South Carolina State House on Saturday, May 23rd.

“Businesses in our area in this state need to be reopened,” said one protester.

SC House Rep. Stewart Jones, Republican District 14

“There’s a lot of economic negative effects that can come from this infection and the suicide and depression and all that… child abuse increase… is gonna be worse,” said rally attendee Tyler Musgrave.

“We are in an invisible war. This is a war. Its a biological war,” declared Barbara Wilson over the PA system from the State House steps.

Among those airing their grievances were two state legislators, Representatives Stewart Jones and Josiah Magnuson.

Jones said, “We know where the road to good intention goes. That’s what we warn ’em. And what do they do? Its ridiculous! People are dying! People are dying more, because of the government reaction to COVID-19 than the actual virus itself. Wake up!”

Video by Zoe Warren.

Magnuson, quoting C.S. Lewis, said, “Of all tyrannies a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive. It would be better to live under robber barons than under omnipotent, moral busybodies… to be cured against one’s own will and cured of such states which we may not regard as disease. It is to be put on the level of those who have not yet reached the age of reason, or those who never will: to be classed with infants, imbeciles, and domestic animals.”

SC House Rep. Josiah Magnuson, Republican District 38.

South Carolina has joined the chorus of states that are incrementally giving permission to business owners in various industries to open and begin operating again under strict social distancing guidelines, but many in South Carolina are not satisfied with having their rights being placed under threat of penalty if expressed: “Freedom is the cure! Live free, or die! Freedom is the cure! Live free, or die…”

…and then rationed back to them arbitrarily without their input: “Let my people GO! And that’s what we say today: let my people go Governor! Open up the business! Its time for us to get back to work. People are suffering! People are dying! People are in trouble!” declared Michael Reed, owner of a statewide newspaper called The Standard.

“Everybody knows that initially we had a lot of data before us and we were unsure of how it was going to be…” said Clark.

Dr. Matthew Clark is a Board Certified allergist and immunologist who lives and practices in North Augusta, South Carolina. He is not satisfied with the actions of the Governor of South Carolina: Henry McMaster.

Dr. Matthew Clark, Immunologist

Clark said, “While I am thankful that Governor McMaster is a man of restraint and care and that he exempted the churches from his order acknowledging that he did not have the authority to tell the churches what to do… I don’t want a king—even if he is a man of restraint. I want a Governor.”

Governor McMaster has the authority to declare a “State of Emergency” which gives him broad powers and discretion to enact rules with enforceable penalties for non compliance, but that power to issue a State of Emergency order is only maintained under a distinct set of circumstances outlined in the law and can only last a period of 15 days without consent of the SC State Legislature.

Dr. Clark continued, “75 days of the Governor driving this without any consent of our legislature and without the voice of the people in this state.”

“They have not called the session like they should have to check the Governor,” said Michael Reed.

“The Governor and the Attorney General have an argument that each new ‘State of Emergency’ represents a new and unique emergency,” Dr. Clark continued.

“Right now we are under the dictatorship of one branch. The Legislature has abdicated their responsibility and their duty,” said Michael Reed

Many of the state legislators have argued that the legislature’s power is a police power, but a great many South Carolinian’s feel that their voices are being ignored and that their legislators have been derelict in their duty.

Peggy Edwards from Liberty, SC said that she just wants her rights protected: “I am from Pickens County in the upstate and I just want our rights to be recognized by this… this government here in South Carolina. We have a Constitution—we want to abide by it.”

Dr. Clark argues that the current state of South Carolina’s public health does not necessitate a continued declaration of a “State of Emergency” at all—even as outlined in the law.

He reasoned, “The Governor, when he issues a ‘State of Emergency,’ if its a public health emergency, the state law gives him a definition that he has to follow… The Governor must find, both, one: a substantial risk of human fatalities, or wide spread illness, and two (that’s ‘and’ not ‘or’…) and two: extraordinary measures are considered necessary to cope with the emergency. So yeah, for the Governor to have that initial ‘State of Emergency’… was a public health emergency present, or imminent on March 13th when the Governor issued the first emergency declaration? Possibly. The potential for significant loss of life, widespread illness, and might even need extraordinary measures to keep it from happening… we have to grant that possibly it was. Is a public health emergency present, or imminent right now as we stand here on Memorial Day 2020? No, and I can say absolutely not.”

Protesters voiced their concerns over the Memorial Day weekend, but a question still remains: “Were their objections heard, or did they fall on deaf ears?”

Zoe Warren is a photojournalist. He is also a husband, father of 3, missionary, musician, filmmaker, documentarian, and storyteller. He is the founder of Pistuo Productions, a narrative film and commercial video production company, the media ministry God’s Plain Truth TV, the Pakistan mission organization Gospel Fire Army, and the studio music project “Striving and Rest.” Warren may be reached at pistuoproductions@gmail.com.

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