A Minnesota starving business owner was slapped with major fines as he fights unjust laws due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Milan Dennie, who owns the King Milanās Barber Shop in St. Paul, tried to reopen his business. Dennie reopened his business with extra safety protocols, but the police came to his barber shop and cited him for violating the stay-at-home order, according to The Gateway Pundit. The business owner now faces fines up to $25,000.
Governorās orders arenāt fair, says St. Paul barbershop owner and consummate community volunteer Milan Dennie, who presented state licensing boards with a social distancing and has yet to hear back. Liquor stores but not barbers? So heās open and hereās how, why: āWe starving.ā pic.twitter.com/Z5gS5cYBRo
— Frederick Melo, Reporter/Axolotl (@FrederickMelo) May 4, 2020
On March 25, Democrat Governor Tim Walz announced a stay-at-home order, only allowing businesses deemed ācriticalā to keep their doors open for two weeks.Ā However, Walz had continued extending his order through the entire month of April to the detriment of small business owners in his state. It was not until May 7 that Walz allowed ānonessentialā businesses to offer home delivery and curbside pickups for customers.
Across the nation, barbers and other hair stylists have performed house calls to earn money. However, many of these individuals, including Dennie, understand that there is a safety risk.
Dennie told TwinCities.com, āIām a business owner who is required by the state to go to school and learn (safety protocols), but someone who owns a liquor store, who is not trained, can have a group of people in there all day ā¦ and be called an essential business? Itās not fair. ā¦ I canāt see myself following an unjust law, which is not a law to me. And we starving. No, itās not fair.ā
Other Business Owners Fight
Shelley Luther, a salon shop business owner, defied the City of Dallas and reopened her Salon A la Mode shop in late April, although Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins had closed many businesses, including salons and barbershops. By defying the executive order, Luther faced monetary fines and jail time. The Dallas Police Department eventually came to issue her a citation.
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A week later, Luther went to court for the citation and was sentenced to seven days in jail. Dallas Judge Eric Moye demanded that Luther ābend her kneeā and admit to being āselfishā, according to InfoWars.
Moye wrote in his judgment of contempt of court: “The defiance of the court’s order was open, flagrant and intentional.”
However, Lutherās stay in jail only lasted two days. Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott blasted Moyeās decision to give the business salon owner jail time. āAbbott amended his executive order and the Texas Supreme Court ordered her release,ā according to DailyMail.
Lutherās dilemma went viral and a GoFundMe account was set up for her behalf.Ā As of May 8, this account had accumulated half a million dollars.Ā Her lawyer was able to speak on her behalf on Fox Newsā Tucker Carlson Tonight. President Donald Trump even noted Lutherās early release.
Trump said, “I was watching the salon owner and she looked so great, so professional, so good. And she was talking about her children. She has to feed her children.ā
Across the nation, business owners have a fight with state government reactions to the Coronavirus pandemic. It is heartening to see a Republican governor, like Greg Abbot, fight for business owners in his state.