Hundreds of people gathered outside of the Colorado Capitol on Sunday afternoon in protest of the state’s stay-at-home order aimed at preventing the new coronavirus from spreading out of control.
Streets around the building in downtown Denver were clogged with vehicles, many of them with American flags attached and passengers hanging out of windows waving signs. Drivers were honking in support of people packed tightly together on sidewalks.
Lance Painter of Greeley was among the demonstrators. He’s a self-employed gem appraiser and has been struggling to make money during the crisis. Painter said he wanted to send a message to the government by protesting on Sunday.
“I feel that it’s an overreaction,” he said, “statically, mathematically. Studies have been done. Perception is incorrect. COVID-19 kills far less people than the regular flu does. And those are just the facts.”
Experts say COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, is far more lethal than seasonal influenza. There’s also no drug proven to treat the coronavirus, as well as no known vaccine, while there are both for the flu.
“There’s no work,” Painter said. “I have a mortgage to pay. I have child support payments to pay. This can’t go on forever.”
Lois Helvie of Byers was another demonstrator attending Sunday’s rally. She was wearing a T-shirt that said “I STAND FOR THE FLAG.”
“I care about the world my grandkids are going to have,” she said, pulling down a red mask, with the words “MAKE AMERICA WELL AGAIN” printed on it, to speak to a reporter.
Hevlie said liberty is at risk when someone can order people to stay in their homes. She said she wasn’t worried at all about the virus, comparing it to the flu.
Among the messages on signs being waved by rally attendees were:
Reopen ColoradoShutdown the shutdownSave our stateOur right to peacefully assemble is protected by the First AmendmentFree ColoradoAt one point, a man riding a horse and carrying an American flag made his way down the street.
Many of the demonstrators were not wearing masks. Polis earlier this month recommended that people wear cloth face covering when they are in public. The protesters also were not, for the most part, distancing themselves from each other.
“Those participating are only endangering themselves and others by ignoring the stay-at-home order, and we urge them to stay home,” Conor Cahill, a spokesman for Polis, said in a written statement. “No one wants to reopen Colorado businesses and lift these restrictions more than the governor, but in order to do that, Coloradans have to stay home as much as possible, except for critical activities, wear masks and wash their hands to slow the spread of this virus.”