On Veto Day, I addressed the New Hampshire House of Representatives one last time. I made a speech in favor of overriding the veto of HB1093, the bill prohibiting school boards from mandating mask-wearing. Last March, the House voted to pass this bill while the Senate did the same a few weeks afterwards, but it ended up being vetoed by Governor Sununu because he claimed that it compromised “local control.” He vetoed HB1093 despite the shocking evidence provided by none other than Dr. Anthony Fauci that emerged after the passage of the bill. I reported this evidence in my speech to the House last Thursday, and I wonder if anyone who voted against the override was even listening.
The following is an excerpt from my speech:
“On May 31st, the testimony that Anthony Fauci had months earlier given to a Congressional subcommittee was finally released. When Fauci was asked by a member of this committee if he had followed any of the numerous scientific studies concerning learning loss and other negative effects on children wearing masks, Fauci said, ‘No.’ He then admitted that ‘there are a lot of conflicting studies…there are those that say, yes, there is an impact, and there are those that say there’s not. I still think that’s up in the air.’
“The doctor was further asked if there was ‘ever a cost-benefit analysis done on the unintended consequences of masking kids versus the protection that it would give them.’ He answered, ‘Not to my knowledge.’ During his testimony, he also admitted that the 6-foot social distancing ‘sort of just appeared’ and was not based on any scientific studies. From his other statements, it seems likely that mask mandates emerged in a similar way.
“His testimony asserts that there is indeed a strong, reasonable doubt regarding the effectiveness of masks and a growing concern for their possible harmful effects. These shocking revelations seem to have been overlooked as HB1093 was nevertheless vetoed. The doctor who headed one of the organizations recommending masks had not even been following the research being done on their effects on children and then admitted that there is no certainty that mask-wearing did not negatively impact students.
“During the COVID pandemic, we continuously heard the phrase ‘follow the science.’ The science, as reflected in the many conflicting studies that have emerged, does not provide clear justification for mask mandates…”
Despite the efforts of myself and Rep. Kristin Noble, the prime sponsor of HB1093, who made an excellent speech that included a brilliant analogy concerning vaccine requirements and how school boards do not determine them, the override failed 164-168. Considering that six more Republicans joined the three who voted against this bill last March and not a single Democrat shifted support (thanks to Rep. Jonah Wheeler, the sole Democrat who originally voted in favor of HB1093 and supported its override), I am left wondering if anyone listens to any of those speeches that take up the bulk of time during legislative sessions. I was not dissuaded from making my floor speech last week, even though I was told it would be a waste of time and that there was no chance of a veto override. I made the speech anyway because I needed to speak the truth, even if I was only preaching to the choir.
