GOP governor rejects 'herd mentality' of coronavirus shutdowns: 'The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety'

It's not one-size-fits-all

South Dakota Republican Gov. Kristi Noem. (Aaron P. Bernstein/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

April 07, 2020

by Aaron Colen

Gov. Kristi Noem, the Republican governor of South Dakota, is resisting national pressure to follow a majority of other states by implementing a statewide shutdown in response to COVID-19, according to the Daily Wire.

Only seven states have not issued stay-at-home orders: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, and Wyoming.

What did she say? "Our Constitution ensures that the citizen's right is protected," Noem said last week. "I agree with the role of our government as set forth in our state and in our national Constitution. I took an oath to uphold these constitutions. My role with respect to public safety is something I take very seriously.

"The people themselves are primarily responsible for their safety," Noem said. "They are the ones that are entrusted with expansive freedoms – they are free to exercise their rights to work, worship, and play – or to stay at home, or to conduct social distancing. The calls to apply a one-size-fits all approach to this problem in South Dakota is herd mentality, not leadership."

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Poster Comment:

"Those who wish to give up essential Liberty for temporary security deserve neither liberty nor security." - Ben Franklin