D.C. restaurant group planned to defy conservavirus rules

My message for restaurants that want to defy reasonable emergency limits resulting from conservavirus: Don't.

The city of Washington, D.C., has ordered restaurants to do things like limit table seating to 6 people or less and make sure customers are at least 6 feet apart. These rules are much more lenient than in many states, which are limiting restaurants to only carryout orders.

Assuming these are the only limits D.C. has, these rules are well within the scope of the city's emergency powers. Martial law endorsed by many pundits would not be acceptable or constitutional - and in fact would be very harmful. But D.C.'s limits on restaurants are not martial law.

But a group that owns several D.C. eateries has announced it plans to disobey the rules outright. The group encouraged other restaurants to do the same.

The mayor then warned the group it must comply. That's why we call them rules. Not mere suggestions.

The media and self-appointed "experts" expect everyone to lock themselves at home around the clock for the rest of the year - which would bring society to a standstill and possibly a permanent end. But a restaurant group thinks it can defy even the most lenient rules.

After warnings by the mayor, the restaurant group finally decided to comply. The group worried that it would go out of business, but if so, the Trump regime needs to be tapped to reimburse it - as it was Trump's unchecked incompetence that fanned this pandemic.

I'm reminded of all the people who used to spam the Internet with personal attacks, and how their provider refused to pull their accounts. Yet administrators at providers who let them go would report posts that were not spam at all. Under our constitutional system, we would have no basis to comply with martial law. But I have no patience with businesses that won't follow mild rules that are perfectly permissible.