State, local governments ban COVID-19 mandates

Several state and local governments are placing bans on COVID-19 mandates as media and government operatives create renewed alarm over the virus.

Arkansas is the latest state to ban COVID restrictions. On Monday the state’s Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee approved a bill prohibiting vaccine mandates across all state and local entities including schools, reported the Arkansas Times.

“[Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders] was very clear that we do not want [vaccine mandates] across our state,” Arkansas Senator Joshua Bryant told the committee. “She’s been very proactive to allow choice when it comes to vaccine mandates.”

The decision came five days after South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster posted a video to social media saying the state refuses to implement “foolish” policies like forced masking and lockdowns. 

“Lockdowns were a mistake,” McMaster declared in a press conference. “A lot of the information that was presented and the opinions that were presented from official sources were in error and caused damage.”

McMaster was referring to conclusive scientific evidence that lockdowns and school closures wrought vast, irrevocable damage with no effect on mortality rates. The destructive effect on children has so far been too great to assess.

The governor also promised not to implement forced masking in light of scientific evidence that has conclusively shown masks to be ineffective against COVID-19.

“And I can assure the people of South Carolina that we are not going to have mandates requiring masks,” continued McMaster. “We’re not going to close down schools. We’re not going to do a lot of the foolish things that were done in other states that were limited to a great degree here in South Carolina.” 

“We have all learned from the pandemic how important common sense is and how it was abandoned in many parts of the country. Not here. We did the right things but we will not have mask mandates. We’re not going to close schools. We’ve got to do everything that we can to see that our young people get the best education available,” the governor added.

A day before, the City of Huntington Beach in California voted to ban forced masking and vaccinations. The decision, which came in a narrow 4–3 city council vote, is being seen as courageous given California’s reputation for enforcing the harshest mandates in the country.

On Tuesday, the City of Odessa, Texas voted not to enforce lockdowns, forced masking nor forced vaccinations. 

In May, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting the requirement for proof of vaccinations across the state.

Since 2021 other Republican-led states have passed laws opposing forced vaccinations. These include Utah, Texas, Indiana, Georgia, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, North Dakota, Kansas, Oklahoma, Iowa, Missouri, Alaska, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Alabama.