First State Times

Delaware nurse Ginny Watkins has a front-row view of the COVID-19 crisis.

She is convinced that local, state and federal governments are overstepping their bounds during the pandemic. She said businesses should be allowed to reopen and America should work to resume a normal life.

“I am a nurse at Christiana Care and I have cared for COVID patients. But the hospital scenario in this area is not what the media is portraying,” Watkins told First State Times. “The hospitals are not overwhelmed; in fact the census has been lower than it's been in the 17 years I've worked there. I have been canceled for numerous shifts because there aren't enough patients needing care. We are not short of PPE or ventilators.

“The hospital systems collaborated and set up an overflow unit in the gym of AI DuPont Hospital for Children where pediatric nurses would be trained to care for adult medical patients so Christiana Care could handle all of the COVID cases,” she said. “I don't believe there was ever one patient in that area.”

The business community, however, is in very real danger, according to Watkins.

“The economic situation in Delaware is grave. People are losing not only their jobs, but the businesses they have taken sometimes a lifetime to build,” she said. “The governor of Delaware has made arbitrary decisions as to what is 'essential’ and what is not, which has led to random and unfair closings. Even businesses that are open are suffering due to trickle-down effects.”

Watkins said the state is not in a strong financial position to provide aid based on years of liberal policies.

“But really, people don't want financial help; they want to get back to work and business,” she said. “As an example, my husband is a straight commission vendor to body shops and garages. He has worked for 33 years to build his business by servicing his customers and building relationships with them. Almost overnight, his business is almost non-existent.

"Many of his customers’ shops are closed and those that are open are struggling. Another example is my hairdresser who fulfilled her lifelong dream of opening her own salon a couple of years ago, but is suddenly in jeopardy of losing it.”

Watkins said she is witnessing other examples of an out-of-control government.

“Now we're moving into the arena of the government asking us to spy on each other,” she said. “I received an email from my representative, Valerie Longhurst, yesterday giving instructions on how to report businesses that I believe aren’t in compliance with the governor's edict. This is scary.”

It also makes her feel she made the right decision when she signed the Convention of States petition in June 2017 because she was very concerned which direction career politicians and the judiciary were taking the country.

“I am a 64-year-old married mother of six children and 11 (so far) grandchildren. I want to leave a great America to my family,” Watkins said. “I have been following the movement since I signed the petition and in August 2019 when my schedule freed up a bit, I got involved as a district captain.

“Since then I have been helping to educate and recruit other like-minded, freedom-loving citizens into our organization,” she said. “I am finding increasing numbers of people who align with our mission and, even more so, with the power grabs occurring during this COVID-19 situation.”

Watkins points to the Convention of States website openthestates.com, which allows people all over the country to locate groups and events in their areas pushing back against government overreach in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.

“We believe it's time to put pressure on our state and local governments to start safely and responsibly opening up the economy and public spaces of our great nation,” she said. “In doing so, we encourage everyone to exercise common-sense precautions and to follow the law. Convention of States is a movement whose goal is to grow the largest army of grassroots activists our country has ever known.”

So far, 15 of the mandated 34 states have passed a resolution calling for a convention to amend the Constitution, as provided for in Article V. Watkins said term limits, fiscal responsibility and limitations to the power of the federal government all need to be addressed.

Once the convention writes new amendments, they need to be approved by 38 states, or three-quarters.

Watkins said Delaware COS supporters are doing all they can to make it happen. There are 4,800 COS petition-signers in Delaware and local volunteers are developing a team of activists who are ready to hit the ground running.

She said, “We encourage everyone to go to our website, learn about our movement, and sign our petition."