Op-Ed: Orders Matter Less Than Good Judgment For Thanksgiving

by Putnam County Sheriff Robert Langley, Jr.

On November 11, 2020, Governor Cuomo announced that effective Friday, November 13, 2020, pursuant to Executive Law, the State of New York is limiting non-essential indoor gatherings at a private residence to 10 people.

I am not encouraging people to have large gatherings in their homes, but rather asking everyone to use their own best judgment to remain safe. Would a gathering of eleven people be a greater danger than a gathering of ten, or would a gathering of nine people be substantially less dangerous? I’m not certain of what the correct number for safety would be and doubt if any one does.

There are a lot of factors that would come into play in determining how many people to have in your home. Are any of them at high-risk? From where are they travelling? Is it more or less likely that they have been recently exposed to the disease? Are they regularly in your circle of contacts anyway? Is your home large enough that you can safely accommodate a larger number of guests?

These are questions that I believe each family needs to answer themselves.

Rather than issuing orders, which are, at best, impossible to enforce, and, at worst, unconstitutional, the Governor would better serve the People of New York if he encouraged our citizens to be cautious, use good judgment in weighing risk factors, protect the vulnerable, and enjoy our families and our great gathering traditions only in ways that are safe, until we can get back to normal.

As Sheriff, I see a better use of our resources than to disrupt families celebrating this national holiday. I wish everyone a safe and happy Thanksgiving.