The (Fort Wayne) Journal Gazette
If anything, Gov. Eric Holcomb needs to move faster and more decisively as the COVID-19 pandemic begins to manifest in Indiana. Illinois, Ohio and Michigan’s governors had already ordered bars and restaurants in their states to close temporarily before Holcomb issued the same directive Monday.
At least he’s moving in the right direction. Closing gathering places and limiting personal interactions won’t stop the virus from infecting more Hoosiers, but anything that can be done to slow its progress will save lives and ease the coming burden on medical facilities around the state.
As The Journal Gazette’s Niki Kelly reported online Tuesday, Indiana Rep. Curt Nisly, R-Goshen, is challenging the governor’s right to issue such a directive. In a letter, Nisly asked Holcomb to “stand up for the rights of Hoosiers and let them conduct business as they see fit,” and maintained that the state Constitution doesn’t explicitly grant the governor the authority to shut down businesses.
That may be, but Holcomb is empowered to enforce state law, and Monday’s order was based on a section of state code that is precisely about the response to epidemics. Indiana Code 16-19-3-10 seems pretty clear: “The state department may order schools and churches closed and forbid public gatherings when considered necessary to prevent and stop epidemics.”
It is worth noting that another section of Indiana health law empowers the state to order quarantines.
Of course, there has never been an emergency quite like this one, and it is important that officials attempting to protect public health stay within the law. Next year, perhaps, or whenever this crisis is safely in the past, the debate about the constitutional nuances of orders such as the ones Holcomb has issued and others he may be forced to consider might be constructive.
But the governor has not only the right but the duty to take strong actions during this kind of dire and widespread emergency. His order Monday only points where common sense should lead us anyway, which is really what leadership is all about.
