A bit of morning amusement because it amuses. One Governor, one press conference, two contradicting ideas. The first: Hey, those one-size-fits-all, top-down solutions are virtually never the answer. The Second: We’re imposing a one-size-fits-all, top-down “solution.” But wait, there are a lot of exceptions!
Related: “You don’t have to wear a mask if you have a medical condition…”
As our readers will know, the “solution” is a statewide indoor-outdoor mask mandate – anywhere you cannot maintain 6 feet of distancing.
As Ian noted last night, this doesn’t mean much. Like the state’s transgender bathroom policy, any man can use any ladies’ room, and you can’t stop him. All he has to do is say he feels like a woman, even if it is only for the visit’s duration. You can’t challenge them, and they are not required to provide proof.
Same thing here.
The order does not apply to”Any person with a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a mask or other face-covering” and; “A person who declines to wear a mask or cloth face-covering because of a medical or developmental issue, or difficulty breathing, shall not be required to produce documentation or other evidence, verifying the condition.”
This is, and yes, we will continue to give him crap about it, a gimme’ to avoid caving to something more drastic like a lockdown—a gimme with a lot of gimme in it.
Emergency Order 74 includes a lot of exemptions and does not apply to any of the following.
a) Educators, students, and staff within K-12 schools;
b) Any person with a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a mask or other face-covering;
c) Any person consuming food or drink or sitting at a restaurant or table to eat or drink;
d) Any person engaged in physical strenuous physical activity;
e) Any person giving a religious, political, media, educational, cultural, musical, or theatrical presentation or performance for an audience;
f) Any person who is deaf or hard of hearing, and any person while communicating with an individual who is deaf or hard of hearing or who has a disability, medical condition, or mental health condition that makes communication with that individual while wearing a mask or face covering difficult;
g) Any person obtaining or providing a service that requires the temporary removal of a mask or face covering;
h) Any person asked to remove a mask or face covering to verify an identity for lawful purposes; or
i) Any public safety worker actively engaged in a public safety role and when a mask or face covering would seriously interfere in the performance of their public safety responsibilities.
It’s a solution to something not necessarily having to do with face coverings and, or should I say but,
Nothing in this Order shall be construed to prevent municipalities within the State of New Hampshire from enacting their own ordinances related to the wearing of masks or cloth face coverings that contain stricter provisions than those contained within this Order.
Your local mandate may be more strict, so make sure you know what it is so you can violate it properly.
As for me, I have several conditions that allow an exemption under the EO 74 rules, but that’ not the point. The order interferes, in theory, with allowing free people to choose how to live their lives. As Ian (again) noted a few days earlier, we “form governments, not to protect their lives, but to protect their rights. Not to protect life, but to protect the right to life.”
While we appreciate all the loopholes, it’s not your job, and as we have repeatedly demonstrated, masks don’t do diddly. Which, all put together, brings us to the clip I promised.
Governor Sununu is saying the right thing, followed by Governor Sununu doing the wrong thing, probably for appearances and as a sop to the COVID-Karens. That does not absolve anyone of anything. As a matter of principle, we should not be forced to dance around a mandate of any sort. Certainly not a pointless thing like a mask mandate.
Hat tip to JR Hoell for the video.
Correction: The original version of this post stated the video clip was from two press conferences. This is incorrect. This occurred in the same press conference. The text has been updated.
