A Northern California town is declaring itself a 'constitutional republic' to protest COVID-19 mandates.
The 'final straw' for Oroville Vice Mayor Scott Thomson was a requirement that schoolchildren must be vaccinated in order to attend in-person classes. By declaring itself a constitutional republic, Oroville will not enforce any executive order by the state or federal government that 'violates' the protected rights of its citizens. Some saw the declaration as a stand for freedom, while others saw it as a step backwards in the fight against the pandemic. The city council in Oroville voted 6-1 in a declaration aimed at showing its opposition to measures aimed at mitigating the pandemic, such as requirements that schoolchildren be vaccinated.
Leaders in the city of about 20,000 people about 70 miles south of state capital Sacramento, said the designation was a way to stand up against state rules it did not agree with, although the move is unlikely to have any legal standing.
The council's declaration on November 2 said that executive orders issued either by California or the federal government, "that are overreaching or clearly violate our constitutionally protected rights, will not be enforced by the City of Oroville against its citizens."