Legislation

Senate passes Municipal Mask Mandate

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Mask mandate opponent citizen advocate William Moore chats with WCAX reporter Calvin Cutler prior to Senate vote in favor of municipal mask mandate. Page photo

by Guy Page
Despite “no” votes from both the political left and right, the Vermont Senate today approved a Temporary Municipal Mask Mandate.

S1 passed 17-10. The bill now goes to the Vermont House this afternoon, the first day of the Special Session.

Sen. Anthony Pollina rejects giving municipalities mask mandate power, favoring targeted masking by state officials, which he called “the best policy to protect the most people with the least amount of divisiveness.” He was joined in a no vote by Sen. Andy Perchlik (I/P – Washington).

Sen. Brian Collamore (R-Rutland) cited numerous problems with the bill:

  • Statewide Mask-Mandated New Mexico has the second highest number of cases.
  • Statewide Mask-Mandated Connecticut has a higher hospitalization rate than mandate-free Mississippi and Florida.
  • The Vermont League of Cities and Towns did not survey its members before calling for the municipal mask mandate.
  • There are no specific enforcement provisions.

Sen. Randy Brock (R-Franklin) reminded his colleagues that “Vermonters will do anything you ask them to do, and nothing you tell them to do.” The bill is heavy-handed and should not pass, he said.

While senators debated inside the State House, mask and vax freedom advocates gathered outside in the rain to speak and listen. The phone in the sergeant at arms office was ringing steadily, with almost all calls against the municipal mask mandate. Page photos.

Collamore and Sen. Joe Benning (R-Caledonia) said they have received (together) a total of 225 phone calls, with only two in favor, the rest against. The virtually 100% opposition of phone callers to S1 was mirrored in today’s calls to the Sergeant at Arms office in the State House. Calls were steady and opposed all morning, a spokesperson said.

“What does Vermont Strong mean?” Sen. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor) said. “If we can put up with mud season, we can put up with masks.”

The Senate then adjourned, making it impossible to reconvene today to consider any changes by the House. Both chambers would likely return on another day in that event.

Categories: Legislation

26 replies »

  1. I can not for the life of me understand why the Senate approved this measure. This state spent one year locked down. If these measures worked, combined with Vermont’s extremely high vaccination rates, then we should have no COVID-19. Our senate is either suffering from lunacy, a case of dementia Joe, or this outcome is politically motivated. If these people cared at all about our health, they would emulate Florida’s COVID-19 response, as Florida is doing great! This is about controlling the masses, nothing more. I was just at the emergency room, a non COVID issue, and the place was friggin empty. I will not comply!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    • I had a friend that sat in ER waiting room for 4 hours, local. SO every day is different. She was in pain also. No one shoudl sit for 4 hours.

    • I am sorry to hear about your friend having to wait four hours in pain. Like I said, the EU I went to was empty, no wait, no mass influx of COVID-19 patients.

    • Well 4hrs isn’t that long as a rule. I spent most of a day at Fletcher Allen a few yrs ago

  2. Well yo u were lucky the rooms were empty. I have a friend that sat in the waiting room local, for 4 hours before she was seen. If was a s- – – show. So some days worst than others, she also was in much pain.

    • If there is a covid delta variant pandemic, the ER would be jam-packed every day. Not just some says. Regardless, I’m very sorry people are suffering while waiting in the ER on any given day.

  3. “What does Vermont Strong mean?”, Sen. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor) said. “If we can put up with mud season, we can put up with masks.”

    Mud season is an act of nature…. mandating masks is an act of TYRANNY!

    • I agree, and as far as saying Vermonters will do anything you ask, you may want to take a vote on that.

  4. I am waiting to see which towns enact this mandate. I watched pete welch at the pride parade one week masked up then the next week in a crowd at the national guard base totally unmasked!! I noticed bj donavan in similar circumstances! If masks were so important one would think the marxist leadership would wear theirs all the time. No Masks for Me!!

  5. one of my local rep’s email me back when I complained about this bill ” We are not weighing the effectiveness of the masks but just giving the towns the ability to make their own judgements. ”

    So the towns most of who have no scientific experts on their staff are supposed to weight the effectiveness of masks, when the state can not!

    Head slap to forhead

  7. This is ALL POLITICAL. It’s meant to gaslight one Town against the Other, to make people hate each other and go against each other. Anyone who is willing to look can see the writing on the wall.

    Evil never sleeps and this is part of the Marxists’s Playbook – instill chaos and keep it going.

    This is only happening because We The People are getting to them. Stay Alert. Peaceful Civil Disobedience is the answer. Business Owners Do Not Comply with the Lie from the Marxist Regime! Townspeople Do Not Comply with the Marxist Regime! Select Boards Do Not Comply with the Marxist Regime, for ALL of you are We The People!

    Yes, Look at Florida – Open Your Eyes, Everyone in Vermont, Open Your Eyes!

    Thank you to the Senators who Voted “NO”. There were very good statements against this Lawless, Marxist Act today.

    Liberty is from God not man.

  8. How is a mask mandate going to be enforced? Who is going to enforce it? Any business requiring a mask will not get my business. I will not spend one red cent in Montpelier or Burlington because of their stupid rules and ignorance. Any other towns/cities being as ignorant, I will avoid as well. I’ll spend the gas money and shop in NH or order online from USA/Patriot businesses.

  9. Our Vermont state government serving under the golden dome in montpelier Vermont is nothing but a flip flop administration.

    Let’s not forget we had rinos that voted to remove Donald Trump from office early to help support Phil Scott who voted for joe Biden

    Vermont has been sold out…

    We need to have the names exposed of everyone that sold out vermonters prior to the next election so we can elect people that truly care about Vermont and the people that reside here.

    It is time for change!

  10. The result of today’s “hard work” by the Senate confirms what we already knew. The majority of these people appear ignorant of reality and cling to the big government socialism theory of politics to “fix” the crisis they helped create. Nothing the senate has done will change the infection rate, nor lower the death rate. These people have voted to install screen doors on submarines, but only in some towns and cities. The House will likewise follow suit, preferring optics and virtue signaling as a method to look responsive to their base voters.
    The real solutions for the SARS-CoV-2 problem remain sealed away, in a box at the CDC and FDA.
    This is all just political theatre.

  11. “What does Vermont Strong mean?”, Sen. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor) said. “If we can put up with mud season, we can put up with masks.”
    If I chose not to drive on a dirt road during mud season that is MY CHOICE! wearing a mask in the eyes of the demonuts is NOT a CHOICE! Vermont strong means that I WILL NOT COMPLY with their MASK MANDATE period! The Green Mountain Boys fought against tyranny, that is what Vermont Strong means!

  12. “What does Vermont Strong mean?”, Sen. Alison Clarkson (D-Windsor) said. “If we can put up with mud season, we can put up with masks.”
    If I chose not to drive on a dirt road in Vt during mud season then that’s MY CHOICE! This mask mandate will require you to wear a mask which is NOT A CHOICE!! I WILL NOT COMPLY THAT’S MY CHOICE! The Green Mountain Boys fought against tyranny, that’s what Vt. Strong means!

  13. All the calls but 2 to the capital were against masking. This proves that our “representatives” do NOT listen to their constituents! I will not comply because science does not support masking.

  14. Screw’em…If they want to insist on this silliness, then they can stick their mask’s up their manifolds…I will not comply, plain and simple. Mask have been scientifically proven ineffective as well the “Vaccine” or mRNA rewrite cocktail. Yet this country’s political regime is still trying to force the first shot onto many, while yet another great many are going for their third and fourth shot…No light bulbs going on in any of the latters heads yet and they’re still blaming the unvaxed??? This has gone beyond craziness…The most vaxed nations are the ones with the most cases of “Break-thru”,…That might indicate that the vaccine is driving the virus’s spread, not preventing it….I will not be a part of this idiotic madness!

    • 100%! Sadly it becomes more obvious everyday that the masses (sheep) will never open their eyes to see the light. They prefer theirs heads in the sand.

  16. Time we all vote in person and think about what these politicians are doing to our state and to our country First we need a forensic audit to see how many really won in 2020. We all know those dominion machines are corrupt. Strange that Scott couldn’t/wouldn’t make a decision himself. What does that say? And we were all mask less through the summer when the tourists were here and as soon as school started and the tourist went back then back came the masks. Are the illegals that are coming going to be charged if they don’t wear a mask or get the shots? Guess they will be exempt .because they are needed to work in all the jobs that the unvaccinated and unmasked are fired from.

  17. Once again Governor Phil Scott has taken a powder and left Vermonter’s at the mercy of one of the largest collectives of fear facilitating legislators in the country!

    And even if the Vermont League of Cities and Towns had surveyed its members before calling for the municipal mask mandate, it wouldn’t have mattered because this is not their call!

    The Laws of the Universe apply in this case, and they must not be compromised!

    Who in Montpelier can justify abusing the Ten Commandments simply because they insist we be Vermont Strong, and in who’s name do they violate us?