ICYMI: Economic recovery impossible if state, local governments won’t protect business from violent mobs

The criminals looting businesses and rioting in the U.S. must be prosecuted and stopped

Raleigh, N.C. — Sen. Bob Steinburg (R-Chowan) wrote an op-ed for Fox Business. Below are excerpts. Read the full piece here.

The unnecessary death of George Floyd should be a catalyst for our society to take another step forward in the pursuit of justice for all.

When stark realities showcase a disconnect between our constitutional ideals and the lives of everyday Americans, we have a window of opportunity to improve, but that requires constructive action, not senseless violence.

By tolerating domestic terrorism, instead of addressing it head-on with sufficient force to prevent the senseless pillaging of American businesses, we are making it harder to achieve our American ideals.

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Consider the poignant example of a small grab-and-go restaurant in my state’s capital of Raleigh, where I serve in the State Senate.

Carroll’s Kitchen was started in 2016 to help women recover from tough life situations like homelessness, incarceration, addiction, and domestic violence. They named their business after the Carroll family who devoted their lives to help struggling families during the Spanish flu a century ago.

…Yet this weekend Carroll’s Kitchen was hit hard by a preventable crisis, as almost every downtown Raleigh establishment was looted and vandalized for two nights over the weekend. According to a local reporter for the News and Observer, they may not reopen.

We cannot allow lawless mobs to sabotage this moment of opportunity.

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Especially as our country struggles to recover from a worldwide pandemic, the criminals looting businesses and rioting here must be prosecuted and stopped. Small businesses are facing enough challenges right now.

They rely on their government to keep them safe. Unfortunately, some elected leaders like our own Governor Roy Cooper are not responding with enough strength.

On the morning after Carroll’s Kitchen was ransacked, he downplayed the losses for countless law-abiding citizens by saying, “We cannot focus so much on the property damage that we forget why people are in the streets.”

…Our economy cannot grow back to its historic strength if everyday Americans, like the good folks running Carrol’’s Kitchen, cannot rely on their state and local governments to protect them from violent mobs.