The solution is simple. Open Western New York now. 

Business owners have taken a hard hit during the Covid Pandemic. Local legislatures forced businesses to shut down, with little to no guidance on when they'd be able to operate again. As time went on, businesses across the country had no choice but to close their doors permanently. The consequences of destroying businesses will far exceed the damage done by Covid - or in reality, the flu. And not just locally, but globally as well. For every 1% drop in GDP, millions will starve around the globe. We have already seen a significant spike in suicides and drug overdoses.

The countries and states with the most extreme lockdowns have had the worst results. It's pretty apparent that locking down and hiding from this version of the flu does not work. CDC has reported that only 6% of the Covid deaths died of Covid and that 130,000 folks marked with Covid as the cause of death did not actually die of Covid.

The excuse given to business owners and citizens was that things had to close to avoid overwhelming the healthcare system. The healthcare system is not overwhelmed. In fact, they have been laying off staff. 

It's time to go back to allowing citizens to make their own decisions. It's time to allow citizens to weigh the risk of contracting Covid versus the risk of their businesses closing forever and their life's work going down the drain. It's time to go back to living our lives. Enough is enough; reopen Western new York.

**Please do not make a monetary donation to this petition.**