by Andrew Trunsky
Republican Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp issued an executive order Wednesday prohibiting local municipalities from establishing mask mandates for people who go out in public.
His order prevents any municipality from enforcing a mask order that is more restrictive than the one at the state level, The Hill reported.
The order nullifies more than 15 mandates that have already been issued by local governments throughout the state, according to The Associated Press.
Instead of a mask mandate, the state order says that masks are “strongly encouraged,” except when eating, drinking or exercising, according to The Hill.
“Previous executive orders – and now this order – state no local action can be more or less restrictive than ours. We have explained that local mask mandates are unenforceable. The Governor continues to strongly encourage Georgians to wear masks in public,” said Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for Kemp, The Hill reported.
Previous executive orders – and now this order – state no local action can be more or less restrictive than ours. We have explained that local mask mandates are unenforceable. The Governor continues to strongly encourage Georgians to wear masks in public. https://t.co/MpxkPUkmBL
— Candice Broce (@candicebroce) July 16, 2020
Kemp’s order stands in contrast to those issued by governors in other states. Democratic governors across the country have mandated masks when out in public, and Republican governors are now also adopting similar measures.
In Alabama, Republican Gov. Kay Ivey announced a statewide mask mandate Wednesday, referencing the skyrocketing number of cases in the state.
Her order mirrors those of other Republican governors as well. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott issued a statewide mask mandate on July 2. West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice followed suit on July 7, according to local outlet WVVA.
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Andrew Trunsky is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Photo “Brian Kemp” by Brian Kemp.
Kemp is a very callous individual who cares less about our children’s safety than he does about making profits. If I had children of my own, he and his wife better stay away from them if they know any better. If Kemp or any man or woman like him did so much as to touch my children, I would react like any decent self-respecting parent would when an adult authority figure like him violates my child’s trust.
I would vote for this man for president. Certainly a better governor than our own for sure. I wish Beth Harwell had been Governor. I voted for her in the primaries. A major healthcare crisis that goes on still is opioid addiction. The economic turmoil that these lockdowns have caused will reverberate in the community and manifest themselves in all kinds of terrible ways. One of those is drug and alcohol addiction.