Fitness Beats the Whitless

[XLFD]

On Friday, Juneteenth, a federal district court judge has ordered the state of Michigan to halt enforcement of a lockdown on indoor gyms starting June 25.  Judge Paul Maloney issued an opinion and order that granted the LEAGUE OF INDEPENDENT FITNESS FACILITIES AND TRAINERS, INC (LIFFFT and others) a preliminary injunction against Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer's recent executive orders that allowed many similar businesses to operate but specifically denied indoor fitness facilities that privilege. 

In his order, Judge Maloney made clear that there was a very low bar that the State needed to clear in order to deny the injunction, but that the State failed to present a reasonable argument.  Maloney writes:

“…this Court must uphold the Governor’s Executive Orders as long as they are supported by some relation to the public health. Unfortunately, on the record before it, the Court has not been presented with any evidence that shows a rational relation between the continued closure of indoor gyms and the preservation of public health.

While the standard is extremely deferential here—if the Court can conceive of any set of facts that would support the Orders, it must uphold them and deny the injunction—the Orders must still connect the challenged prohibition with some fact or facts. At oral argument, the Court pressed Defendants on what data, evidence, or rationale supported the continued closure of indoor gyms.

Defendants cited to the preambles of the Executive Orders and vaguely stated that indoor gyms are a 'petri dish' of infection, but Defendants could not point to any facts in the record to support that statement. Defendants emphasized the low bar: all that needed to be presented was a reasonably conceivable set of facts that connected the continued closure to protecting the public health. But when asked, even counsel was unable to state a rational basis to support the position that indoor gyms must still be closed. Defendants merely reiterated that a threat of transmission exists at indoor gyms, and the threat of transmission must be minimized.”

But when asked what data, science, or even rationale supports the continued closure of indoor gyms, Defendants presented nothing beyond 'trust us, they’re still dangerous.' From that vague statement and nothing more, the Court cannot create a set of facts that rationally connects the restriction with the legitimate government interest of protecting the public health."

This coming Thursday, the ruling allows indoor fitness facilities to open their business with the same considerations other Michigan businesses are following.  For once, a court has asked Governor Whitmer about the science that supposedly backs her orders, and she and her quality lawyers supplied by the Attorney General's office cannot come up with one reason at all.  Whitmer and these attorneys should enroll at their local health club and try to become fit for holding public office, because they continue to bring the state down in every way.

[Willy]

Thanks for the post X. What I find most disturbing is the fact that the Judge was more than willing to eliminate peoples freedoms and trash the Constitution if Whitmer would had only provided some nuggets of excuses for him to do so. I ask, where the hell is the Michigan Legislature? They should have, by now, put a stop to this unlimited power one person has over an entire State. The tyrant Democrats still have the coward Republicans shaking in their boots. If not for Trump I would have nothing to do with the Republicans let alone the Democrats. The judge should rule alone on how unconstitutional it is to take away citizens rights and freedoms.