In the Ongoing Mask Mandate Battle, Missouri AG Eric Schmitt Makes the Case for Freedom – Opinion

It’s very clear, COVID is here to stay
You can’t do it for a year. But you can do it every day.

While many Americans have come to terms with that and resigned themselves to getting on with the living of life over and around the pernicious little bug, some insist on holding fast to it — and the power they perceive it affords them. Never mind not letting a crisis go to waste — certain government officials and bureaucrats have seized upon the pandemic as vital fuel for their political (and, in some cases, financial) ambitions: They know what’s best for you and you It willRespect their authority, rather than reviewing what is available [non-doctored] data, consulting with your own, trusted healthcare providers, and making rational decisions as to what’s best for you and your family while continuing to enjoy your constitutionally protected freedoms).

Missouri doesn’t have a mask mandate…but certain local jurisdictions and school districts within the Show-Me State continue to insist on them. We’ve detailed some of these ongoing skirmishes, along with Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt’s ongoing efforts to challenge their legality here, here, and here.

A Circuit Court judge issued a very definitive decision on the issue last month. KSDK published the following:

Cole County Circuit Judge Daniel Green ruled that orders such as quarantines and business closures violate the Missouri Constitution’s separation of powers clause affecting the executive, legislative and judicial branches of government, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

….

St. Louis County has an order that requires face covers in public spaces indoors as well as on public transport for unvaccinated or vaccinated people aged 5 and over. This order relies on scientific consensus among federal, state and county public health officials to say that masks are required in order for COVID-19 to be contained until people become more vaccinated.

Green claimed that such orders are unlawful in the State.

“This case is about whether Missouri’s Department of Health and Senior Services regulations can abolish representative government in the creation of public health laws, and whether it can authorize closure of a school or assembly based on the unfettered opinion of an unelected official. This court finds it cannot,” Green wrote.

Green ordered that all existing health orders issued by local health authorities are “null and void.”

This seems quite clear, right?

Not according to St. Louis County Executive Sam Page, who continued to insist the county’s “mask mandate” was in effect…until he didn’t.  Initially, Page referred to Judge Green’s decision as “uninformed.” A week later, the County’s acting Health Department Director, Faisal Khan (who’s had his own issues), issued a letter announcing that the mask order was rescinded.

That didn’t stop Page, seemingly irked by AG Schmitt’s challenge to his authority regarding the mandates, from calling Schmitt a bully and a menace:

“As was widely reported last week, the county is no longer under a mask mandate. A court ruling 130 miles away that could gut public health and take away healthcare for the most vulnerable was not appealed by the attorney general, which comes as no surprise,” Page said.

“In his campaign for higher office, he is using the health of all of us in the game of who can be the most irresponsible to ensure the most headlines. Here’s a headline. Society is at risk from those who spread misinformation, bully children and their parents. You are selling carnival quackery and not treating COVID-19 as a serious matter. The vaccine acceptance rate is too low to prevent another variant from spreading. Hospitals here and across the country are sounding the alarm.”

After the ruling was issued, there has been renewed debate regarding masking in Missouri school district schools. Some districts are moving towards non-mandatory masking and some resisting it. For his part, Attorney General Schmitt’s office has sent out cease and desist letters to at least 52 Missouri school districts in response to parental complaints regarding continued mask mandates and quarantine policies.

Per the AG’s website:

“Last week, I empowered parents to provide information about their child’s school district and if they’re continuing to enforce mask mandates and quarantine orders despite the recent Cole County ruling. Since then, we’ve received a tremendous response from parents who are fed up with school districts across the state continuing to force their children to wear a mask all day or quarantine when they’re perfectly healthy,” said Attorney General Schmitt “My Office has worked diligently to identify non-compliant school districts and send cease and desist letters to those districts. We will continue to fight these mask mandates and quarantine orders and enforce the law.”

Not all local officials oppose Schmitt’s efforts. Eureka Mayor Sean Flower has been a vocal opponent of the mandates himself and shared his appreciation for Schmitt’s tenacity on Twitter:

@Eric_SchmittTonight, Kenny Diekmann from Eureka High School met with him. Kenny protested against Covid’s restrictions in Rockwood. Kenny is one of the kids Eric is fighting for, and it’s awesome to see Eric and Kenny get a chance to meet up face to face. pic.twitter.com/KcHeW91tz3

— Sean Flower (@Mayor_Flower) December 16, 2021

It is important to remember not to mix opposition with government because it cannot be repeated enough. MandatesThere is no reason to oppose any method someone may use to minimize risk. Anyone who wishes to wear a mask when out in public (or home alone, for that matter — you do you), should feel free to do just that.

Emphasis on the “feel free.”