Republican Representatives Tom Gerhold and Stan Gustafson added their names to a letter published yesterday in support of efforts to open Iowa for business as soon as possible. The letter was originally signed by nine Republicans in the legislature.
The text of the letter reads:
We, the undersigned legislators, support Governor Reynolds’ efforts to open the state of Iowa for business as soon as possible. Iowans cherish their constitutional liberties and look forward to getting back to a sense of normalcy in a timely fashion.
Recognizing the profound importance of religious liberty, we support the lifting of the prohibition against religious services as soon as possible and support guidelines for safe worship, believing that Iowa’s faith-based community can be trusted to make wise decisions.
Recognizing there are some areas of the state that are more impacted than others by the spread of COVID-19, and the reality that we must take reasonable precautions to keep people safe, we support the Governor’s efforts to open less impacted areas of our state as soon as possible. We ask for guidelines that allow businesses to open quickly, with recommendations for mitigation measures that will encourage safe practices.
We appreciate Governor Reynolds’ tireless efforts to protect the safety of Iowans, while also doing her best to show respect for individual liberties by not issuing shelter-in-place orders. While we have deep concerns about the abuse of power in other states that resulted in severe restrictions on fundamental liberties and believe that future discussions are warranted as to the constitutionality of decisions made across the nation that restricted liberty, we applaud Governor Reynolds for exercising her authority in a measured manner as she works to keep Iowans safe.
We look forward to Iowa getting back to work and back to liberty as soon as possible.
Rep. Steven Holt (District 18)
Rep. Thomas Gerhold (District 75)
Rep. Stan Gustafson (District 25)
Rep. Tom Jeneary (District 5)
Rep. Shannon Lundgren (District 57)
Rep. Sandy Salmon (District 63)
Rep. Jeff Shipley (District 82)
Rep. Phil Thompson (District 47)
Rep. Skyler Wheeler (District 4)
Sen. Jake Chapman (District 10)
Sen. Jason Schultz (District 9)
