On Wednesday, August 19th the Washington City Council will be meeting to vote on whether they should institute a citywide mandatory mask mandate. We respectfully request that they honor the values of liberty, freedom and personal responsibility, and vote NO on this issue. We respect everyone's right to wear a mask if that is their personal choice but stand firmly behind the belief that this is a decision that should be left to the individual and private businesses rather than a city government that believes "good intentions" justify blatant government overreach. 

We look to our elected leaders at all levels of government to defend our rights. Not to actively seek to strip them from us. Data on the efficiency and practicality of using masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has often been flimsy and constantly evolving. Many of the world's leading experts on infectious disease have shifted their positions and at times contradicted their own positions merely days prior following backlash from those with a political stake. Though contrary opinions are often silenced, the fact remains that there is far from a consensus on this issue and it is irresponsible for policy makers to base decision making on science that is very new, extremely politicized and that continues to change at an extraordinary pace.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed"  -Declaration of Independence 

We urge Mayor Sandy Lucy and all members of the city council to base their decision making on a sober understanding of what their role in our community really is rather than basing their decisions on fear, panic and political pressure. Please do the right thing and vote NO on mandatory mask mandates in Washington, MO.