Law banning mask mandates found unconstitutional; senator says it's a 'liberal' decision - KATV
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KATV) — An Arkansas judge officially struck down the state law that banned mask mandates in schools and other government entities Wednesday.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox already temporarily blocked the law banning mask mandates in August. This allowed dozens of school districts in Arkansas to enact mask mandates, many who have already gotten rid of them as cases declined in the Fall.
It’s been a nerve-wracking few months for Little Rock School District parent Veronica McClane who was one of the plaintiffs against Act 1002, which banned mask mandates in certain places.
“I’m hopeful that people who value public health will make the right decisions and mandate masks where it’s appropriate,” McClane said. “This first semester I kept my child home and he did virtual but now that he’s vaccinated he will be going back January 5 and knowing now that he will be in a classroom full of other students who are wearing masks that makes me feel a lot better.”
But the sponsor of the bill, Arkansas State Senator Trent Garner, said it shouldn’t be the government’s decision if Arkansas children should have to wear face masks or not.
“It’s going to hurt tens of thousands of children in the state by forcing them to wear masks against their mental health,” Garner said. “That decision should be left to the parents, not the school district to do some big government mandate. It’s unfortunate that a corrupt attorney and a liberal judge in Little Rock took the decision out of the parent's hands.”
Even though Garner hopes for an appeal process, McClane said she’s hopeful.
“To say that you are against big government mandates, what they are failing to realize is that they have become the oppressors and the big government that they don’t want. By taking away local school districts and local entities' rights to make these decisions they have become what they really get all the time,” McClane said.
This decision comes the same day that the state saw nearly 4,000 new COVID-19 cases. Many of the school districts will return to class next week without mask mandates, but that could be something that changes as cases rise.
source: https://katv.com/news/local/law-banning-mask-mandates-found-unconstitutional-liberal-judge-decision-senator-says
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