Kings County's vocal protesters say their protest rallies are only about getting California opened for business

Beaumont insists that the Hanford rallies, held at the city’s most active intersection – 12th Avenue and Lacy Boulevard – aren’t about the president. He, and most of those protesting, want Californians to return to work.

Beaumont and others have scheduled yet another protest rally for Saturday (May 9) at the same Hanford intersection – and they hope to fill all four corners with protesters. The rally begins at 10 a.m.

“Right now, it’s about getting people back to work, period. They’re not Trump rallies,” he said emphatically.

“I’m a Trump supporter,” he readily admitted. “I am very conservative, but this is not about politics. This is about opening up our businesses, so people don’t lose everything. I don’t want this to turn into a Trump rally.

“I don’t want to cut anybody out of these kinds of rallies,” he continued. “I can’t control people. I tell them, please don’t bring Trump flags. Don’t bring Trump gear, but people do. I can’t stop them. Again, it’s all about freedom, and if that’s what they want to do, they do.”

The point of the rally, said Beaumont, is to return to work. “I just want it to be a group of people – Republicans and Democrats – who can get together on one thing, and that’s reopening businesses.

He may have a point. Since the Pandemic reared its ugly head, the unemployment rate – as of Friday, May 8 – surged to 14.7%,  the highest rate since the Great Depression. U.S. employers cut 20.5 million jobs in April, a record-shattering number.

“There’s just a lot of angry people out there that are tired and want to go back to work,” said Beaumont, a former Save Mart shipping clerk, now retired and living in Hanford. In addition to organizing rallies, he spends some of his spare time as a handgun instructor at the Kings Gun Center.

There were several protesters at the May 2 protest rally at 12th Avenue and Lacey Blvd. A second rally is scheduled for tomorrow at the same site starting at 10 a.m.

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Beaumont has been busy. In addition to Saturday’s (May 9) rally, he also helped organize the May 2 rally. He guessed that between 60 and 80 persons pounded the intersection that weekend.

“Teachers, prison guards, they all get paid,” said Beaumont. “The politicians get paid, but my hairdresser friends don’t. My store owners don’t, and there’s nothing for them. It’s just wrong.”

Beaumont isn’t about to second guess the pandemic. He thinks it’s real, and he’ll follow the rules if it’s required. For example, if somebody wants to wear a mask – even at a rally – he doesn’t have a problem with it. “I’m not going to tell them they can’t wear a mask. That’s ridiculous, but I don’t want them telling me that I have to.

“Their fear doesn’t trump my freedom.” But at the same time, Beaumont isn’t going to be disrespectful. “If I go to a store, and the store says to wear a mask, I’ll wear a mask, or I won’t go in. I’ll go somewhere else. I’m not out to ruin people’s lives, but I don’t want them to ruin mine either.”

Beaumont has been a busy man in his retirement. “I go to a lot of rallies,” he said. In the last two weeks, he has been to Fresno twice, Sacramento once, Bakersfield, and of course, Hanford.

He has plenty of friends who keep an eye on his Facebook page when he organizes the next rally. “There’s just a lot of angry people out there who are tired of this and want to go back to work.”

While the local protests may or may not have had an impact on California’s plan to reopen, the state has implemented guidelines that state leaders say will eventually lead to a complete reopening of California businesses.

According to the guidelines, the state is currently at Stage 2, where retail (curbside and delivery only), related manufacturing, and essential businesses can open.

Stage 3 will eventually open higher-risk workplaces, like movie theaters, religious services, and more personal and hospitality services. Finally, Stage 4 will essentially be the end of the state’s stay home order.

Starting today (May 8), businesses like florists, clothing, toys, book, music, and sporting goods stores can begin operating as long as they serve their customers with curbside pickup and take precautionary measures.

The state has also provided criteria for counties that hope to open sooner, which could include opening restaurants for dine-in service. However, counties must certify, among other things, that:

• There has been no more than one Covid-19 case per 10,000 residents in the past 14 days, or no Covid-19 deaths in the past 14 days.
• No Covid-19 death in the past 14 days and testing is available for at least 75 percent of residents within a 30-minute drive in urban areas. Other factors include the ability to implement contact tracers per every 100,000 residents (in small counties, there should be at least one).
• The state is also recommending that county hospitals be ready for a surge of new Covid-19 cases.

Kings County could have a case for opening sooner. According to the Kings County Department of Public Health, since the pandemic began, there has been just one death reported, and a testing site recently opened, allowing residents to schedule appointments.

In Lemoore, city officials announced the opening of the Lemoore Golf Course, and according to the golf course manager, Tom Ringer, business is booming, despite precautionary measures needed to limit Covid-19 spread.