Legislating in the Hands of Amateurs

The Wicked Witch of the Midwest is at it again, according to an article James Nellis sent me:

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Friday toughened and expanded Michigan’s mask-wearing requirements, saying that wearing masks is the best way to reverse an increase in coronavirus cases [sic for “best way to destroy any freedom remaining to her subjects”].

The dire assault on liberty and the Constitution is obvious. Let us instead investigate other problems, all of which stem from the executive’s usurping the legislature’s function:

…the first line of enforcement will be business employees directed to refuse entry to those who will not wear a mask.  …”[T]his puts retail employees in potentially dangerous situations when they’re forced to confront unmasked customers,” [Meegan] Holland[, a spokeswoman for the Michigan Retailers Association] said.

Next, 

Those exempt from wearing a mask in Michigan businesses include people younger than five, those who cannot medically tolerate a face covering, and those eating or drinking while seated at a food service establishment.

Holland said “determining the validity of an ambiguous exemption is an impossible task for a retailer.” Despite that, “even retailers acting in good faith could be subject to severe licensing sanctions based on the actions of non-compliant customers.”

Then there’s this boon to dissidents even if not to the newly drafted enforcers in retail:

Complicating the issue is a significant caveat in Whitmer’s executive order. It provides an exception to the mask requirement for those who “cannot medically tolerate a face covering.”

Health privacy norms and laws make it difficult, if not impossible, for store managers to question whether, or how, customers might have a medical reason for not wearing a mask…

Doggone!

Charlie Owens, Michigan director of the National Federation of Independent Business … asked what would happen if a customer claims a medical exemption and is allowed inside and then another customer sees someone not wearing a mask and reports the business to authorities.

“Is the business owner going to have to find the customer after the fact and get a doctor’s note to avoid the penalty?” Owens asked. “Are they going to have to guess who is exempt and who is not?”

Yo, Witch: leave the legislating to the professionals. They’ll botch it just fine on their own.

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2:45 pm on July 10, 2020