{"id":5802,"date":"2021-12-08T12:05:51","date_gmt":"2021-12-08T12:05:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/senatedems.com\/brinks\/?p=5802"},"modified":"2022-12-22T21:37:50","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T21:37:50","slug":"sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/","title":{"rendered":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 8, 2021) \u2014 Today, Sen.&nbsp;<strong>Winnie Brinks<\/strong>&nbsp;(D-Grand Rapids) introduced legislation to protect public health workers from rising threats of violence amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by increasing penalties for anyone who threatens to assault, or assaults, a public health official.<br \/><br \/>Earlier this year, the Administrative Health Officer of the Kent County Health Department was&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.woodtv.com\/news\/kent-county\/kent-county-health-officer-says-he-was-threatened-nearly-run-off-road-over-mask-order\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">nearly run off the road<\/a>&nbsp;hours after issuing a mask mandate for the school year.<br \/><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThroughout the worst pandemic in a century, Michigan\u2019s public health officials have been working tirelessly to carry out their constitutional duty to protect the public,\u201d Sen. Brinks said. \u201cThis brave work should be celebrated, not derided. However, like many public servants, their jobs have become increasingly difficult due to misinformation campaigns and threats of physical harm to them and their families.\u201d<br \/><br \/>The legislation,&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/doc.aspx?2021-SB-0781\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Senate Bills 781<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/legislature.mi.gov\/doc.aspx?2021-SB-0782\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">782<\/a>&nbsp;mirror an existing statute protecting Child Protective Services employees, where it is a misdemeanor to threaten physical harm, and felonies for an assault and an assault causing serious impairment.<br \/><br \/>\u201cUnfortunately, recent reports indicate this problem is not limited just to Kent County, and that many public health officials have even gone so far as to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wkar.org\/wkar-news\/2021-10-01\/threats-long-hours-drive-by-heckling-public-health-officials-in-michigan-near-breaking-point-amid-backlash-over-covid-orders\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resign because of the seriousness of threats associated with doing their job<\/a>,\u201d Sen. Brinks added. \u201cI cannot stand to see another story detailing the fear these dedicated public servants must live through in order to do their jobs, and I encourage my colleagues to join me in saying \u2018enough is enough.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">###<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 8, 2021) \u2014 Today, Sen.&nbsp;Winnie Brinks&nbsp;(D-Grand Rapids) introduced legislation to protect public health workers from rising threats of violence amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by increasing penalties [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-press-release"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials - Senator Winnie Brinks<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 8, 2021) \u2014 Today, Sen.&nbsp;Winnie Brinks&nbsp;(D-Grand Rapids) introduced legislation to protect public health workers from rising threats of violence amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by increasing penalties [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Senator Winnie Brinks\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466\"},\"headline\":\"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\"},\"wordCount\":261,\"commentCount\":0,\"articleSection\":[\"Press Release\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\",\"name\":\"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials - Senator Winnie Brinks\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/\",\"name\":\"Senator Winnie Brinks\",\"description\":\"Michigan Senate Democrats\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3da2887db706dfa8587baba5d85c3807e267a58764ccea2e0a413b3f0364806c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3da2887db706dfa8587baba5d85c3807e267a58764ccea2e0a413b3f0364806c?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/senatedemssandbox.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials - Senator Winnie Brinks","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials","og_description":"LANSING, Mich. (Dec. 8, 2021) \u2014 Today, Sen.&nbsp;Winnie Brinks&nbsp;(D-Grand Rapids) introduced legislation to protect public health workers from rising threats of violence amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by increasing penalties [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/","og_site_name":"Senator Winnie Brinks","article_published_time":"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466"},"headline":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials","datePublished":"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/"},"wordCount":261,"commentCount":0,"articleSection":["Press Release"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/","url":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/","name":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials - Senator Winnie Brinks","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#website"},"datePublished":"2021-12-08T12:05:51+00:00","dateModified":"2022-12-22T21:37:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/2021\/12\/08\/sen-brinks-introduces-legislation-to-protect-public-health-officials\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Sen. Brinks Introduces Legislation to Protect Public Health Officials"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#website","url":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/","name":"Senator Winnie Brinks","description":"Michigan Senate Democrats","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/d70eb43c43b9d6128dac1bd664ee6466","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3da2887db706dfa8587baba5d85c3807e267a58764ccea2e0a413b3f0364806c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/3da2887db706dfa8587baba5d85c3807e267a58764ccea2e0a413b3f0364806c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/senatedemssandbox.com"],"url":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5802"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5802\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6173,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5802\/revisions\/6173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dev.senatedems.com\/brinks\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}