Terry reports,
I scheduled a meeting with the mayor of a county in Tennessee where I have a bookstore to discuss the mask mandates. I should point out that even though the mandate is still active, I was allowed to enter without a mask and in fact saw many people in the building, including several government employees, without masks. The place didn’t seem very Orwellian at all. No one said a word to me about wearing one the whole time I was wandering around in there looking for the right office. Anyway, when I found him, he informed me no previous government action seemed to stop new “cases” (imagine that) so he felt obligated to use “the last tool at his disposal,” i.e., mask mandate. So, he didn’t know what to do but couldn’t bear the thought of doing nothing. I really wish the government would sometimes do nothing, don’t you?
I wish government would do nothing all the time.
I spoke to him about the civil liberties implications of this and suffice it to say we didn’t see eye to eye on it,
That wins my vote for “Understatement of The Year”!
though the meeting was pleasant. The encouraging thing about the policy is that the mayor of the county refused to attempt any kind of prosecution for the “mandate.” His original plan, he said, was not to enforce it unless someone was deliberately provoking conflict in the community and causing civil strife (ahem).
Good policy—but really bad “law” because the mayor can also wield it against whomever else he disapproves.
He conferred with the district attorney and the sheriff and they all concluded that it cannot be enforced without a statute (seems like we used to have a different branch of government that did the whole lawmaking thing, but it’s been a while since I heard “I’m Just a Bill”, maybe I’m misremembering).
Nope, it’s your mayor who’s misremembering.
The DA told the mayor that the only possible charge was equivalent to a Class A misdemeanor which potentially carries jail time not to exceed 11 months and 29 days. But, even that was a very shaky charge and probably wouldn’t hold up. All three agreed jail time was ridiculous in any case (encouraging) and just concluded it is unenforceable and they will not even pretend to prosecute anyone for mask “violations.” Their enforcement consists of the government giving away masks if they encounter anyone without one (your tax dollars at work). I asked why they bothered mandating them in the first place and he didn’t have a good answer but I think we can safely conclude it was for political expedience.
Oh, the number of crimes committed for that very reason!
How wonderful their stand could have been if they all came out together and said the mandate is no good and it has been cancelled because it is unlawful and laid out their reasons. Oh, well. It’s good to know that I can walk down the street and open and operate my store with no mask without fear of the jackboots. And, if any “concerned citizens” want to dime me out to the fuzz, I’ll just wait right here until they respond….I got the whole meeting on audio and will be happy to enter it as evidence. Especially the part where the mayor looked me in the eye and said if the cops get called to my business, they are not empowered to take ANY enforcement action.
How many similar discussions have occurred in Smalltown, USA? Go forth boldly with naked faces, ye Great Unmasked!
12:22 pm on August 5, 2020
