Sen. Miner Statement on Passage of Gov. Lamont’s Public Health and Civil Preparedness Emergency Extension
July 14, 2021Chief Deputy Senate Republican Leader Craig Miner (R-Litchfield) issued the following statement in opposition of a Democratic resolution that extends the Governor’s public health and civil preparedness emergency declarations through September.
“My constituents are concerned about returning to normal and how that ‘normal’ is defined. Is it a true return to ‘normal’ or does it resemble the way the term is currently defined with restrictions on society through executive orders. The message sent today is that we are not returning to normal despite the Governor’s proclamations otherwise,” said Senator Miner.
“I’m reminded of a line from ‘The Wizard of Oz,’ which is a fitting analogy for the way that this state continues to operate. That line is ‘You’re out of the woods, you’re out of the dark.’ My question remains: if we are not at that point yet, what is the standard for us to define when we would be? I would argue that there will be variants of this virus for the rest of our lives. Many of my constituents received the vaccine and do not want to be bound to the porch of their home. They also do not want their children bound by masks as they go back into the classroom to learn and socialize with their peers.
“We have been inundated with statistics for 16 months: COVID infection rate, hospitalizations and deaths. I’m not surprised that these figures go up and down. This will not change. If we want the state to move forward then let’s join the rest of the blue states in our region, and across the country, and end this emergency. We should have an optimistic voice that leads people to believe that we’re headed to a place of normalcy. I am fearful that the message coming out of here today is that we’re still in some form of lockdown,” he said.