Texas Salon Owner Defies Lockdown Order Faces Fines, Jail Time–Her Response To The Judge Is PERFECTION
This is the same kind of Texas spirit that brought us the “Come and Take It” cannon flag.
Shelley Luther is the owner of Salon A La Mode in Dallas and one tough lady.
The lockdowns that have been put in place by state and local governments seem like they will have no end. Somewhere along the line, the purpose of the lockdown shifted from being about “flattening the curve” to make sure that hospitals aren’t overwhelmed to some indeterminate point in the future and no one is explaining what that point is. Is it when we can reduce the cases to zero? It’s unclear.
Governments are terrified that once businesses open up there will be a spike in CCP virus cases. That is certain to happen unless there is an effective vaccine, which we are unlikely to see in the near future.
The thing is, the government has made decisions on which businesses are “essential” and which ones are not. That’s a helluva thing for a government to do.
Almost everywhere, grocery stores, pharmacies, and “big box” stores are still open, as are restaurants offering take-out, but not some of the consumer-based businesses that are often small businesses like hair salons.
Why is it that a hair salon must be shut but a grocery store can remain open?
What if the salon takes precautions like rigorous cleaning, providing masks to customers, and PPE (gloves and masks) to employees? “Not good enough!” said the powers that be.
Shelly Luther, One Tough Lady™, wasn’t going to let her business fail because the government decided that her American Dream is “nonessential.”
It was time for civil disobedience.
Luther reopened her salon on April 24 in defiance of the lockdown order and was issued a temporary restraining order to close her business. She defied that, too. Luther defied multiple court orders and was warned that if she continued to keep her business open, she would face a $500 fine for every day in violation and possible jail time. She kept her business open.
When Luther faced the judge, she was told that she could avoid going to jail if she admitted that she was wrong to reopen and apologize to the elected officials who deemed her livelihood “nonessential.”
She wasn’t having it.
The judge called Luther “selfish” for refusing to abide by the government order and opening when the powers that be decide it’s safe.
Luther said that she didn’t have a choice, she had to feed her children and pay her employees so that they could feed their own children. She said that if the judge thought that feeding children was “selfish” then he could continue with the sentencing.
She is facing a fine of $3500 and 7 days in jail. That’s a $500 fine and one day in jail for each day that her salon was open in defiance of the order.
Judge Eric V Moyé, of the 14th Civil District Court of Dallas, told Luther on Tuesday that he would consider a lighter sentence if she admitted that she was wrong and apologized to the elected officials whose orders she violated.
“I have much respect for this court and laws. I have never been in this position before and it’s not someplace that I want to be,” Luther responded, according to CBS Dallas Fort Worth. “But I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I’m selfish because feeding my kids — is not selfish. I have hair stylists that are going hungry because they’d rather feed their kids. So sir, if you think the law is more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision but I am not going to shut the salon.”
Source: CBS News
A judge told Shelley Luther, the salon owner who opened her business in defiance of the governor's orders, that she had the option to avoid jail time if she admitted to the government she was "wrong" and "selfish" for opening.
Here is her response:pic.twitter.com/s5SM2XKYSq
— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) May 5, 2020
Judge Eric Moyé insists Shelley Luther can be let out of jail if she publicly kisses the ring of big government.
Stay strong, Shelley. We’re behind you. pic.twitter.com/G5VhbeZ8UO
— Sara Gonzales (@SaraGonzalesTX) May 6, 2020
At least they didn’t send a SWAT team to confront her.
Senator Ted Cruz weighed in saying that the judge was wrong to ask Luther to apologize for wanting to go back to work.
7 days in jail for cutting hair?? This is NUTS. And government officials don’t get to order citizens to apologize to them for daring to earn a living. https://t.co/3rulRlN0gE
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) May 6, 2020
Some have said that Luther should have waited because Governor Abbott’s order would allow hair salons to open on Friday. That would be an additional two weeks of no income for Luther after weeks of shutdown. That’s not feasible.
Which business do you think would get more traffic in a day, Salan A La Mode or the local grocery store? One is shut down, the other is permitted to be open.
We’re with you, Shelly Luther!
Stay Rowdy!
