Mayor Feinen attempts to alleviate the backlash from concerned citizens by making the claim that “so many of these powers” were already in her jurisdiction as Mayor. The executive order simply restates these permissions she already posses in order to inform the public during a state of emergency.
“So many of those powers, I have had from the beginning,” Feinen told WAND-TV. “All we have done is enumerate them and now the public is aware of them. So, I am the liquor commissioner. I can shut down bars yesterday, I could have shut them down two years ago,” says Mayor Feinen. “Nothing has changed with respect to that, it is just that we have laid it out, so people are aware of that. In respect to the other items that are listed in the attachment, they have been listed in the city code for 15 years.”
Despite having no confirmed cases of coronavirus in the US city with a population number of 87,500, Champaign Mayor Deborah Frank Feinen has declared a coronavirus emergency.
Mayor Feinen details in an executive order that she will be granted the power to abolish the sale of firearms and alcohol. The Champaign Municipal Code grants the mayor the authority to declare an emergency for a temporary period of time, and this time it’s due to the Wuhan Flu pandemic.
“None of the options will necessarily will be implemented but are available in order to protect the welfare and safety of our community if needed,” says city Communications Manager Jeff Hamilton.
https://twitter.com/DonaldJTrumpJr/status/1238835353806680065
Donald Trump Jr. calls out the executive order signed in by Mayor Feinen as just another democrat trying to exploit a crisis in order to push anti-gun propaganda.
Illegal! https://t.co/ytqG2BhkYw
— Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) March 14, 2020
The powers granted to the Mayor of Champaign as a result of this executive order:
- Violating parts of the Open Meetings Act
- Ban sale of firearms and ammunition
- Ban sale of any alcohol
- Closing of all bars, taverns, liquor stores, etc
- Ban sale or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank permanently fixed to a motor vehicle
- Direct the shutoff of power, water, gas, etc
- Take possession of private property and obtain full title to same
- Prohibit or restrict ingress and egress to and from the City
It remains to be seen whether other municipalities and states will enact similar bans, and what effect such bans will have on public safety.
