Texas Supreme Court Orders Release of the Salon Owner Who Became a “Symbol of Conservative Outrage”
A woman arrested for refusing to close her hair salon was just released from a Texas jail thanks to both an order from the state’s Supreme Court and its governor Greg Abbott.
Shelley Luther was arrested for violating the state’s stay-at-home order that mandated all “non-essential” businesses be closed, choosing instead to re-open her salon a week before the order was set to be lifted. And while there are some really valid arguments to be made against jail as punishment for violations of coronavirus orders—especially when the virus is so prevalent inside jails and prisons—Luther’s case has grown far larger than an issue of one woman’s refusal to heed social distancing orders.
Her case, as the New York Times notes, “quickly became a symbol of conservative outrage over state lockdowns and stay-at-home orders. Armed protesters rallied outside the salon, and former Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska paid a visit to show her support.”
Indeed, by ordering her release, Governor Abbott had to overrule his own directive at a time when stay-at-home orders are seen as being highly partisan.
Those who view lockdown orders as a violation of civil liberties are framing Luther’s jail sentence as an overreaction and a sign of an erupting police state. But that’s not exactly accurate, mostly because that framing ignores the mountains of chances Luther was given before and even after her arrest. After violating the original order, Dallas county officials issued her a cease and desist letter and a restraining order, which she ignored.
During her court hearing, the judge offered to let her avoid jail time if she agreed to shut down her business and apologize for acting selfishly. (She’d also have to pay a fine, but she was ordered to do that anyway.) Not only did she refuse to apologize but she also told the judge that unless he put her jail, she’d keep her salon running.
“I have to disagree with you, sir, when you say that I’m selfish, because feeding my kids is not selfish,” Luther said. “So, sir, if you think the law’s more important than kids getting fed, then please go ahead with your decision. But I am not going to shut the salon.”
Luther said she wasn’t being selfish because she wanted to feed her kids and help her employees (which is a whole other can of worms if we’re going to get into essentially forcing employees to risk their health to keep working), which is completely understandable and in issue people across the country (and around the world) are grappling with. The “selfish” part is when people refuse to think outside of their own immediate circles about their larger communities and the risk being posed to them by opening up hubs for the virus to spread and creating situations where it’s literally impossible to socially distance from other people.
Abbott’s executive order will retroactively eliminate jail as a punishment for social distancing violations, which personally, I think is a good thing. I just hope it gets applied to everyone and not just the nice blonde lady lionized by armed protesters and Sarah Palin as a symbol of their partisan rage.
(image: MARK FELIX/AFP /AFP via Getty Images)
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