California protesters talk mental strain, importance of freedom

Jamie Joseph

The Epoch Times

Kiki O'Bourke was among the approximately 1,500 protesters in Huntington Beach Saturday, May 9, who urged Gov. Gavin Newsom to expedite his plan for reopening the state.

"Emotionally, it's killed me," he told The Epoch Times. He's physically healthy⁠ – aside from a hernia that was supposed to be fixed in February by an operation that's now been postponed indefinitely.

O'Bourke is worried about friends and family with mental health issues. Some of them have had "domestic problems rising" during lockdown, he said. A friend of his committed suicide recently. Tears fil...