Curfew restrictions: Is it legal to leave your house?

So, I’ve been digging through these recent emergency mandates from the task force, and honestly—I'm just stuck. I can't figure out if there are actually any misdemeanor or criminal penalties for violating that order about staying put at your residence.

Here’s the specific stuff I’ve been looking over:

Public Health Emergency Act
Civil Defense Act
The Order Prohibiting Leaving One's Primary Residence and Permanent Domicile in the United States (issued under Article 22.a of the Civil Defense Act)

Is there anyone out there a bit sharper than me who could walk me through this?

🤔 Once this blows over, there’s going to be hell to pay.

They could really be in hot water if they get hit with lawsuits over forced quarantines. Some constitutional experts—like Judge Andrej Abramović, for instance—are already arguing that these orders were illegal moves that basically suspended democracy. On top of that, legal scholars are claiming that quarantines should only be triggered by the Secretary of Health, not some emergency management task force. They’re even suggesting that since you can't just lock down entire regions, the government actually owes compensation to anyone forcibly confined (?!).

"If that happens, we’re suing both the County and the federal government. We don't want to go that route; we'd rather focus on building things up, but if we're backed into a corner, we're speaking out," said Turčinov, representing the "liberated" folks from Murterin.

vividranger8 said:Wait, where exactly? Like, can you actually drop a link to some official government or federal website or something? I need to see if this is legit!

My sister lives in Dresden. They weren't even allowed to leave the city.

Robert Reyes4 said:My sister lives in Dresden. They weren't even allowed to leave the city.

I mean, I honestly stumbled upon these super detailed documents within just a few minutes—it breaks down every single measure they implemented in Boston, all laid out chronologically and even translated into ten different languages! 👍

mellownomad7 said:🤔 Once this blows over, there’s going to be hell to pay.

They could really be in hot water if they get hit with lawsuits over forced quarantines. Some constitutional experts—like Judge Andrej Abramović, for instance—are already arguing that these orders were illegal moves that basically suspended democracy. On top of that, legal scholars are claiming that quarantines should only be triggered by the Secretary of Health, not some emergency management task force. They’re even suggesting that since you can't just lock down entire regions, the government actually owes compensation to anyone forcibly confined (?!).

"If that happens, we’re suing both the County and the federal government. We don't want to go that route; we'd rather focus on building things up, but if we're backed into a corner, we're speaking out," said Turčinov, representing the "liberated" folks from Murterin.

See? That's exactly why they call it "self-isolation." It’s just a clever way to dodge using the word "quarantine" so they don't have to trigger any legal requirements to actually pay people out under the law.😉

vividranger8 said:I mean, I honestly stumbled upon these super detailed documents within just a few minutes—it breaks down every single measure they implemented in Boston, all laid out chronologically and even translated into ten different languages! 👍

So, what did you find?
I didn't really see the point in hunting down info online that I'd already heard firsthand.

fadedranger162 said:See? That's exactly why they call it "self-isolation." It’s just a clever way to dodge using the word "quarantine" so they don't have to trigger any legal requirements to actually pay people out under the law.😉

Look, jokes aside, they basically shoved everyone into quarantine.
The whole town was locked down. They even put those spikes on the roads like we were some kind of high-security prison.

Cheers,

It’s just like how they set up those lakes over by Martha's Vineyard. Honestly, I’d feel like absolute garbage if they tried to lock me down in my own city because of some virus...

Aside from those stay-at-home orders, honestly, the restrictions here in America have been pretty mild compared to other countries where people aren't even allowed to wander a few hundred feet away from their own front doors, let alone step foot in someone else's building—which, granted, makes sense given the circumstances. In some places, you practically need a hall pass just to hit the grocery store. And don't even get me started on curfews. Around here, we didn't really see quarantine mandates unless you were actually infected or living in a hot zone like Martha's Vineyard or El Paso, plus the usual folks in self-isolation.

Major spots like Lake Tahoe, Central Park, or even walking along the San Francisco Embarcadero... they never closed them down.

I traveled wherever I wanted, really. I even hopped between different cities, counties, and states. I don't mind making a few calls to get things sorted if I need to.

I get why smaller towns might have felt more hit by all this, though. That part makes sense.

Any idea when we might actually be allowed to drive from one county to the next? I really need to head over to the bike shop to check out some gear—hopefully soon!

mellownomad7 said:Look, jokes aside, they basically shoved everyone into quarantine.
The whole town was locked down. They even put those spikes on the roads like we were some kind of high-security prison.

Cheers,

Yeah, they were officially placed under quarantine, so they should be getting paid—especially the ones who aren't already covered by these stimulus checks.

If they don't pay up, people should just sue; it's their legal right. And if the government tries to screw over a few hundred or thousand people just to save a buck, well, that just confirms what kind of country we live in.

hollowfox3 said:Aside from those stay-at-home orders, honestly, the restrictions here in America have been pretty mild compared to other countries where people aren't even allowed to wander a few hundred feet away from their own front doors, let alone step foot in someone else's building—which, granted, makes sense given the circumstances. In some places, you practically need a hall pass just to hit the grocery store. And don't even get me started on curfews. Around here, we didn't really see quarantine mandates unless you were actually infected or living in a hot zone like Martha's Vineyard or El Paso, plus the usual folks in self-isolation.

Major spots like Lake Tahoe, Central Park, or even walking along the San Francisco Embarcadero... they never closed them down.

I traveled wherever I wanted, really. I even hopped between different cities, counties, and states. I don't mind making a few calls to get things sorted if I need to.

I get why smaller towns might have felt more hit by all this, though. That part makes sense.

That’s a fair point. There are definitely harsher restrictions out there, but those countries were also hit way, way harder by the virus. Plus, even in some of the worst-hit areas, they didn't even implement these kinds of rules. Sure, everything was chaotic at first, but this interstate travel ban doesn't make sense anymore when some states haven't seen a single case in days, or even weeks.

If the PR teams were actually good at their jobs, they would have announced an end date for the measure, while simultaneously warning everyone to limit travel to essentials—or, say, if someone heads to a cabin for the weekend, tell them to pack enough supplies so they don't have to hit the local grocery store and risk mixing with people.

They need to educate people and talk to us like rational adults, instead of just fear-mongering and pointing fingers saying, "It's all your fault" if something goes wrong.

analogbison15 said:Any idea when we might actually be allowed to drive from one county to the next? I really need to head over to the bike shop to check out some gear—hopefully soon!

Supposedly after May 11th.

Larry Walker24 said:Supposedly after May 11th.

There’s a massive difference between saying "after" and "starting on."

The way I see it, it means "from," and that's what I'm counting on. Honestly, the current situation is ridiculous—people are crossing state lines for a 72-hour visit just to "get home," yet I'm stuck here unable to even leave my own county.

Folks, expect things to open up starting May 11th. Everything should be back to normal, except for the fact that we can't even drive our own cars to run errands. We shouldn't let them keep squeezing us like this. May 11th gives them plenty of time to get all their paperwork and decisions sorted out.

I sent off my request for an e-permit via email to the Brooklyn West office back on April 30th...

So far, I haven’t heard a peep—no "yes," no "no," just total silence.

Why on earth is this taking so long? Or did they just ghost me because they rejected it?

I sent the email at 11:00 AM on a Thursday—a perfectly normal workday, mind you.

Robert Reyes4 said:So, what did you find?
I didn't really see the point in hunting down info online that I'd already heard firsthand.

I didn't really dive into the nitty-gritty because those articles are just massive—but man, it's wild how everything over there in Germany is so incredibly precise, look at this:

https://www.coronavirus.sachsen.de/a...ngen-5359.html

Here’s a quick update: According to their own websites, Greyhound and Arriva should be resuming intercity routes this coming Monday. I tried digging through The New York Times to see if there was any official word on travel between major US cities or trips heading toward Canada and other parts of the European Union, but their sites are saying nothing will happen before May 25th.

This legal mess is gonna drag on forever.

Quincy:

12 Lawsuits Filed with Supreme Court: Questions Regarding the Erosion of Freedoms Are Growing Louder Out of the 12 lawsuits filed so far, seven are targeting the stay-at-home order issued back on March 23, 2020. The plaintiffs argue this move violates the Constitution because it wasn't passed by US Congress. They’re pointing out that it tramples on the constitutional right to free movement across the US—a right that, according to the Constitution, can only be restricted by law, not by some mandate from Headquarters. Two other constitutional lawsuits hit the court over the lockdown order issued on March 19, 2020. These folks, who had to shut down their shops and small businesses because of it, claim their entrepreneurial freedoms and equal rights were violated. They're arguing that you can't just wipe out what someone built through capital investment via executive decree, nor should it infringe on the freedom to work or the right to earn a decent living. There are also lawsuits hitting the funeral restriction order from March 20, the strict limits on being out in public starting March 21, and the temporary ban on crossing US borders.

I sincerely hope we see an even greater number of them in the future—and I mean a significantly larger quantity. It would serve as a necessary deterrent, ensuring they never even consider repeating such a mistake again.

Starting a new thread here. Do you guys think we'll see this happen again? I’d love to hear some predictions. Honestly, this is the one thing that really gets to me—more than losing a job or dealing with health issues, it's this.

restlessbear10 said:Starting a new thread here. Do you guys think we'll see this happen again? I’d love to hear some predictions. Honestly, this is the one thing that really gets to me—more than losing a job or dealing with health issues, it's this.

There was some talk about putting specific counties on travel warnings rather than entire states. By that logic, if one county is flagged by the EU, the whole country should be shut down. That doesn't make much sense.