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“The Constitution is meant to put shackles on government,” he said. “That is an American concept. It shouldn’t matter what party you belong to.” ...

He equated his attendance to a 150-pound woman fighting off a 300-pound assailant in a back alley.

“The 150-pound woman doesn’t just lay there and get beat; she needs to defend herself," he said. "That’s pretty much the extent of it, for why you have to speak up. Because you have illegal actions from a politician that violate natural law.”

We’re the 150-pound woman and the assailant is the government, Gibson said.

Whitmer first declared a state of emergency on March 10, and her first stay-at-home order on March 23. She extended the state of emergency without a vote of support of the Legislature on April 30 and extended the stay-at-home order until May 28 the following day.

“My big thing is, we have so many counties in the state where the numbers are like nothing,” said Alex Smith, 58, who drove nearly two hours from Cadillac. " ... So much of the state did not have to be shut down because of this and could have gone on with very little to no infections.

“Now everybody is going to suffer for three counties in the Metro (Detroit) area ... to shut everything down makes no sense.”

Culpepper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins announced on Tuesday that he would not enforce Northam’s partial lockdown order, which has already been rolled back from much of the state.

“Heads of law enforcement agencies in the Rappahannock Rapidan Health District were contacted today by the district health director, Dr. Wade Kartchner. The purpose was to request assistance on enforcement of Governor Northam’s Executive Order 61,” Jenkins said in a statement.

“My response to that request is that we will not trample the constitutional freedoms of our citizens to enforce an edict of the Governor. I do not speak for any of the other jurisdictions in the health district,” Jenkins said.

Michigan has been under one the strictest stay-at-home orders in the nation since March 24. Bars, gyms, salons and restaurants remain closed, and retail is only open for curbside pickup. People are only supposed to leave their homes for essential activities, like grocery shopping or exercise, and aren’t allowed to gather with anybody outside their household, no matter how small the group.

But as days turn into weeks turn into months, people across Michigan – including those who supported and strictly complied with the orders initially – are loosening their adherence to the letter of the orders and determining for themselves how much risk they’re comfortable taking.