The mayor of an Illinois city on Friday issued an executive order that declared an emergency in the city and — as part of the order — included the right to ban the sale of firearms and ammunition.
Deborah Frank Feinen, the Democrat mayor from Champaign, through a spokesman, told WAND 17 that the executive order “allows the city to be flexible to properly respond to the emergency needs of our community.”
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The order allows for:
- Violating parts of the Open Meetings Act
- Ban sale of firearms and ammunition
- Ban sale of any alcohol
- Closing of all bars, taverns, liquor stores, etc
- Ban sale or giving away of gasoline or other liquid flammable or combustible products in any container other than a gasoline tank permanently fixed to a motor vehicle
- Direct the shutoff of power, water, gas, etc
- Take possession of private property and obtain full title to same
- Prohibit or restrict ingress and egress to and from the City
The spokesman said that the options might not be implemented, but they are helpful for the city to have at its disposal.
The report said that, besides the ammunition ban, the city could ban the sale of alcohol, close bars and take possession of private property.
Her executive order prompted some on social media to call out the measure as local government overreach.
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“Ability to ban the sale of “food, water, fuel, clothing, alcohol, gas guns. Ability to seize private property & cut off water supply. COMMUNIST takeover. Excuse= Wuhan Virus?” one Twitter user posted.
She joins a long list of state and local officials who are preparing for a widespread outbreak of the coronavirus. A top health official in Ohio, for example, said Thursday that there are far more people with the virus than being diagnosed.
Ohio had five known cases at the time of her remarks, but she estimated that there were likely more like 100,000 cases.
President Trump on Friday declared a national emergency as the death toll in the U.S. reached 40.
“The action I am taking will open up access to up to $50 billion of very important and a large amount of money for states and territories and localities in our shared fight against this disease,” Trump said, at a White House Rose Garden press conference.
Jeff Hamilton, a communications manager for Champaign, told WAND 17 that the main objective is to keep the community safe and protected.