Arizona State senator and registered nurse Janae Shamp (R-Suprise) reminded Arizonans this week of safeguards put in place by Republicans at the legislature to protect against any effort by the federal government to reinstate COVID-19 mask mandates.
This follows movie studio Lionsgate in Santa Monica, Rutgers University in New Jersey, Georgetown University in Washington DC, and Morris Brown College in Atlanta announcing they are reinstating mask mandates due to reported COVID–19 cases.
According to Shamp, these liberal businesses and colleges are again overstepping their authority by dictating these mask mandates.
“With election season upon us, we’re once again witnessing COVID-19 fearmongering from the Left as liberal entities in Georgia, New York, and California are now once again overstepping their authority in dictating mask mandates,” Shamp said.
Shamp said that businesses, students, and the public should rest assured that they do not have to comply with these restrictions as Republicans have put protections in place since the beginning of COVID-19 to safeguard them against any “future outrageous overreach and scientifically baseless restrictions.”
In 2021, lawmakers enacted Arizona Revised Statute (A.R.S.) 44-7951 to protect businesses in Arizona from the requirement of a mask mandate established by state, city, county, and town governments, or any other jurisdiction within Arizona.
In 2022, lawmakers enacted A.R.S. 1-611 to protect students under 18 from having to wear a mask at a public district or charter school without the express consent of the child’s parent or guardian.
Also, in 2022, lawmakers enacted A.R.S. 36-681 to protect the public from forced masking at any government building or premises, except where long-standing workplace safety and infection control measures require them that are unrelated to COVID-19.
In addition, if Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs implements a state of emergency for “public health” reasons, last year’s enacted A.R.S. 26-303 would require her to first get permission from the Legislature to extend the emergency past 120 days.
According to Shamp, wearing a mask is a citizen’s personal choice that they are allowed to make, and she will fight to make sure Arizonans are protected from this gross overreach.
“As a registered nurse who has been detrimentally impacted by government infringement not based on scientific evidence, I want you to rest assured that I will fight tooth and nail to make sure you’re protected from this gross overreach. If you want to wear a mask, wear a mask. If you don’t want to wear a mask, Don’t wear one. This is a personal choice that our citizens are allowed to make. If a business wants to force you to wear a mask and you don’t wish to, you have the right to take your business elsewhere,” Shamp said.
Shamp said she vows to craft more legislation next session that further protects Arizona citizens’ “God-given freedoms.”
Earlier this year, Shamp also introduced a piece of legislation that would require employees in the state to have the opportunity to opt out of a vaccine mandate.
The Arizona Sun Times contacted Shamp for comment but did not receive a reply before press time.
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Hannah Poling is a lead reporter at The Ohio Star, The Star News Network, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Hannah on Twitter @HannahPoling1. Email tips to [email protected]
