Chile, what is going on in Georgia?!? While most governors are enacting stricter laws requiring residents to wear masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Georgia’s Governor Brian Kemp is actually suing Keisha Lance Bottoms and Atlanta’s City Council for requiring them!
Kemp says Atlanta’s mask mandate violates his emergency orders, according to CNN. “This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp tweeted. “These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth.”
Now if you know Keisha, she wasn’t going to stand idly by and not say anything. Moments later she fired back at the news of the lawsuit saying, “3104 Georgians have died and I and my family are amongst the 106k who have tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, I have been sued by @GovKemp for a mask mandate.”
Under the order, not wearing a mask within Atlanta’s city limits was punishable by a fine and even up to six months in jail. But Kemp’s office has argued the mayor’s plan is not “legally enforceable” because he signed an executive order that prohibits local action from being more prohibitive than the state’s requirements.
“Once again, if the mayor actually wants to flatten the curve in Atlanta, she should start enforcing state restrictions, which she has failed to do. We ask citizens and businesses alike to comply with the terms of the governor’s order, which was crafted in conjunction with state public health officials,” Kemp’s office said in a statement earlier this month. “These common-sense measures will help protect the lives and livelihoods of all Georgians.”
The lawsuit also comes just one day after Kemp suspended all local government mask mandates even though coronavirus cases and hospitalizations are on the rise in his state.
Under the executive order, the Republican governor extended the state’s public emergency and said face coverings are “strongly encouraged,” but not required.
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