Texas: No more Mask Mandates
Mask mandates and business restrictions are ending at a statewide level in Texas. On Texas Independence Day, March 2nd, 2021, Texas Governor Abbott announced that Texas he would rescind his statewide mask mandate and business occupancy restrictions.
There has been considerable disagreement and debate regarding the legality and appropriateness of mask mandates in response to the pandemic. One surprising place where the debate was taking place was within the Republicans of the Texas government.
On February 24th, 2021 Texas State Representative Matt Schaefer filed two bills that would end the then-current and ban future mask mandates statewide. A mandate could only be put in place if the Texas Legislature approves.
Then on February 26th, Representative Dustin Burrows filed HB 3, the Texas Pandemic Response Act. This act would give Gov. Abbott’s emergency declarations the force of law. The governor may declare a so-called “pandemic disaster” for thirty days. However, the orders would be allowed to be renewed in perpetuity until the State Legislature declares an end to the disaster. The Legislature only meets every other year or when called to an emergency session by the governor.
Just days after these diametrically opposed bills were filed, Abbott decided to follow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who lifted Florida pandemic restrictions in September of 2020.
While many were ecstatic over Gov. Abbott lifting the pandemic restrictions some raised questions of why we had pandemic restrictions in the first place. Former State Representative Jonathan Stickland said in a Facebook post, “King Abbott gets no credit for undoing what he never had the right to do.”
Julie White McCarty, CEO of the True Texas Project, also took to Facebook to share her thoughts. “Of course I’m glad the mask mandate is over. Now I won’t be the only one maskless.” McCarty continued, “I feel like I just heard ‘War is over’ and I want to rejoice . . . BUT, I will remind you that just because Abbott gave the news, it does not mean he is to be thanked. You don’t thank dictators.”
The conservative push-back against Gov. Abbott’s orders have become more and more apparent in light of how he has handled the coronavirus in Texas. And while that conservative push-back against Gov. Abbott’s coronavirus orders has been most felt in Texas, it is being recognized among conservatives across the United States as well. Abbott recently scored the lowest of any potential future Republican primary candidate in the Presidential Straw Poll at the recent Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) – even lower than the oft-criticized Senator Mitt Romney.
Regardless of how Gov. Abbott ranked in CPAC’s Presidential Straw Poll, conservatives should be thankful that Gov. Abbott has lifted the statewide mask mandate. Gov. Abbot’s actions in lifting the statewide mask mandate has placed Gov. Abbott directly in the cross-hairs of the criticism of President Joe Biden, who has called Gov. Abbott’s decision a “big mistake” and referred to the move as representative of “Neanderthal thinking.”
Mark Lee Dickson, Director with Right to Life of East Texas, disagrees with President Biden’s criticism of his Governor’s actions. “Gov. Abbott walking back the mask mandate was not a ‘big mistake’ as Biden had said, but was the right thing to do.” Dickson continued, “Biden regards Texans who do not want to wear masks as holding to ‘neanderthal thinking’ while Governor Abbott believes that Texans are smart enough to make their own decisions on mask-wearing.”
“That, in and of itself, speaks volumes.” said Dickson.
Douglas Phillips is a native Texan, having been born and raised in the Lone Star State. He writes on political philosophy and current events.
