A majority of Americans disapprove of protests against restrictions aimed at preventing the spread the coronavirus, according to a new poll that also finds the still-expansive support for such limits � including restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders � has dipped in recent weeks.
The new survey from the University of Chicago Divinity School and The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 55% of Americans disapprove of the protests that have popped up in some states as some Americans begin chafing at public health measures that have decimated the global economy. Thirty-one percent approve of the demonstrations.
Texas hair salon owner Shelley Luther was sentenced to seven days in jail last week after refusing to apologize to a judge for opening her salon in defiance of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott�s emergency orders. She was released less than 48 hours later after Abbott removed jail as a punishment for defying virus safeguards.
In Michigan, thousands of people rallied outside the state capitol last month to protest Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer�s restrictions. Hundreds returned two weeks later, some of them armed, to demonstrate inside the statehouse.
Democrats are more likely than Republicans to disapprove of such protests, 67% to 51%. Thirty-two percent of Republicans and 25% of Democrats say they approve. Only 8% said public protests, marches and rallies should be unrestricted during the outbreak, while 41% think they should be allowed only with restrictions and 50% think they should not be allowed at all.
Dee Miner, 71, of Fremont, California, said she disapproves of the protests, but also feels people have the right to express themselves.
�We have to have the right to protest, but I have to tell you, seeing those people with those weapons at the statehouse in Michigan was pretty disturbing,� said Miner, a Democrat and retired dental office manager. �I felt sorry for the legislators having to work with that angry mob in the lobby. It seemed like it was just pure intimidation.�
Adam Blann, 37, of Carson City, Nevada, said he does not personally favor the protests, but does not believe they should be restricted.
�Its a tough situation,� said Blann, a Republican-leaning voter who works in the natural gas industry. �But I also think that one of the reasons we live in a great country is that we have freedom of expression, freedom of speech, freedom to protest.�
As some states have begun to slowly ease restrictions on businesses and individuals, the poll finds that 71% of Americans favor requiring people to stay in their homes except for essential errands. Support for such measures is down slightly from 80% two weeks earlier.
Similarly, 67% of Americans now say they favor requiring bars and restaurants to close, down from 76% in the earlier poll. The poll also suggested dipping support for requiring Americans to limit gatherings to 10 people or fewer (from 82% to 75%) and requiring postponement of nonessential medical care (from 68% to 57%).
Mark Roberts, a retired transportation worker in Abingdon, Virginia, said he�s going about his business despite Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam�s stay-at-home order. Roberts said people in his southwestern Virginia community are driving the short distance into neighboring Bristol, Tennessee, to patronize restaurants open there.
�People from Virginia have been crossing over into Tennessee to eat and just get out, you know, and do things, and Virginia is losing out on it,� said the 61-year-old Republican.
Among Republicans like Roberts, the share supporting stay-at-home orders dipped from 70% in late April to 57% in the latest poll. The share supporting other measures also dropped, from 75% to 63% for limiting gatherings to no more than 10 people and from 70% to 53% for closing bars and restaurants.
Among Democrats, 84% favor stay-at-home orders, down slightly from 91% in the earlier poll. Eighty-seven percent of Democrats favor barring gatherings of more than 10 people, and 79% support bar and restaurant closures, about the same as in the previous poll.
Blann, the Nevada resident, said he didn�t mind officials imposing certain restrictions for a short period of time, but fears the potential of authorities being unwilling to roll back some of their newly declared powers.
�I do think the government should respond to allowing people to make more of their own personal choices without legal repercussions,� said Blann, who said he doesn�t expect to find himself in a crowded bar anytime soon, but is looking forward to being able to go back to church.
The poll found most Americans in favor of some kind of restriction on in-person worship, with 42% saying that should be allowed with restriction and 48% that it should not be allowed at all.
Marilou Grainger, a retired nurse anesthetist and registered Republican in Washington, Missouri, said she�s torn between the need to take precautions against the virus while also allowing people to make their own decisions.
�I think we should still be under a bit of quarantine, especially people who are 60 or older,� said Grainger, 67, who believes the jury is still out on whether lockdowns and stay-at-home orders have been effective in stemming the spread of the virus.
�Did we make a mistake? Did we totally annihilate our economy, or did we actually save some people issuing this quarantine?� she asked.
(AP)
