WASHINGTON—Heritage Action for America today announced it has delivered its “Open American Society” petition along with its 100,000 signatures to the National Governors Association.
The petition, which began accepting signatures on April 24, calls on governors around the country to allow business and travel in areas with low COVID-19 incidence and to ensure testing is available for areas with outbreaks. The petition also affirms the importance of constitutional liberties, personal responsibility, and ordinary Americans caring for their neighbors.
“The American people have sent a clear message to governors around the country: no more endless lockdowns,” said Jessica Anderson, Executive Director of Heritage Action. “They are fed up with one-size-fits-all executive orders and restrictions on their civil liberties. Most governors have listened: in the last month, over 40 states have started reopening businesses, lifting regional restrictions, and allowing state-wide stay-at-home orders to expire.”
In just 21 days, the petition received over 100,000 signatures from Americans across the country. After the petition reached that important milestone, Heritage Action staff delivered the petition and its signatures to Gov. Larry Hogan, head of the National Governors Association, in Maryland. Heritage Action will continue to gather signatures and send the petition to leaders around the country.
“We hope that governors will listen to the voices of their constituents and keep reopening,” continued Anderson. “As states open and more tests are performed every day, new cases of COVID-19 have continued to decrease. Unfortunately, millions of Americans continue to lose their livelihoods every week. America is on the right track, but governors need to keep moving forward and reopening in a smart way.”
Heritage Action has spread the petition through a network of more than one million grassroots activists and 20,000 grassroots leaders called “Sentinels,” volunteers committed to holding policy makers accountable and fighting for conservative policies. Since the petition began, nearly every state has entered a “Phase One” limited reopening, and many have adopted the regional approach advocated in the petition.
Heritage Action has led the grassroots effort to call for a reopening based on recommendations provided by the National Coronavirus Recovery Commission, a policy effort to inform policymakers’ reopening plans. The Commission has to date issued 264 in-depth policy recommendations to help state and local governments ensure a speedy health and economic recovery through an “all of society” approach.