“It is my belief that mandatory mask wearing is immoral, ineffective, a violation of the Constitution and of a person’s own control over their own body,” said Moretown resident John Gallagher during the start of the Moretown Select Board’s June 20 meeting.
To kick off the face mask mandate discussion that was slated for the night, Gallagher urged the board to consider various articles he’d read showing that face masks are totally ineffective in preventing the spread of coronavirus; that they are a symbolic gesture at best, that they decrease oxygen levels in the blood, and that they’re part of a broader vaccination agenda. “I believe that mask wearing is the first step in the agenda for forced vaccination. I personally have never had a flu shot. Vaccines are poison,” said Gallagher.
While the board didn’t bite the vaccination agenda bait, it also wasn’t eager to pass a townwide mask-wearing mandate. “It should be a business’s decision,” said select board member Callie Streeter, who was concerned about how the town would enforce a mask-wearing mandate. Streeter also talked about her own frustrations with face masks, saying that she had to wear one at work, and comes home with a splitting headache every night because of it.
Likewise, select board member Don Wexler was wary about making mask wearing a local law. “I don’t know if I like the word ordinance,” said Wexler, who suggested that the town would be better off passing a resolution of support for mask wearing. “I would be in favor of a resolution,” he said.
Select board chair Tom Martin spoke up in favor of a mask-wearing ordinance for the sake of public health. “These are unprecedented times and these are things that really need to be done for your fellow citizens. If you read some of the literature, you’ll see that wearing a mask is not preventing you from getting it, It’s preventing you from spreading germs to someone else,” said Martin. “I’m certainly in favor of an ordinance. And I don’t think it’s something that we will be standing around enforcing, but I think its something that can only help.
Eventually, the select board compromised by passing an official mask-wearing resolution for the town of Moretown. Specifically, the resolution says that any member of the public entering a business in the town of Moretown should wear face covering in accordance with the recommendations from the Vermont Department of Health.
