Georgia Governor Brian Kemp Protects Public Health By Nixing Local Mask Requirements

Yesterday, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp issued an Executive Order striking down mask requirements in at least fifteen local jurisdictions.

While the governor has encouraged Georgians to mask up to prevent the spread of coronavirus, he has called mandates “a bridge too far.” So despite growing evidence that masks work, and Kemp’s own exhortation that people should mask up if they want to watch college football this fall, the newest order explicitly makes them optional.

The ordinance also caps indoor gatherings at fifty persons and suspends the requirement that Georgians renew their gun permits during the pandemic. So if anyone needs to shoot a virus, they’ll be able to do it. Phew!

Next door in Alabama, Republican Governor Kay Ivey instituted a mask mandate yesterday. Mississippi’s governor Tate Reeves tweeted a long thread on dangers of a herd immunity approach, encouraging his constituents to wear masks, and allowing municipalities to enact their own mask regulations. But in Georgia, this abridgment of personal liberty will not stand!