South Carolina Governor blasts mask mandates for school children
Governor Henry McMaster said it’s time to eliminate mask mandates in his state and that it’s “ridiculous” for kids to be required to wear masks in the classroom.
“I think – again – it is the height of ridiculosity [sic] for a school district to make that decision for the parents, particularly since we’ve known even when the virus was rampant that the schools, the classrooms, were the safest places of all,” said McMaster.
“Some of the cities, some of the counties, some of the school districts, are defying logic and common sense in imposing government requirements on people contrary to what we know to be reasonable and necessary,” he added.
McMaster never imposed a state-wide mask mandate in South Carolina, arguing it wasn’t necessary and also believing that they weren’t constitutional. Cities and counties were left with the decision-making on where and when citizens were required to wear masks.
“I’d ask the cities and counties if they have restrictions out there that are undo to wrap it up,” he added. “We gotta get back to normal.”
McMaster also commented on the new CDC guidance issued on Wednesday regarding mask wearing when outside.
His message comes one day after dozens of parents protested Charleston County School District’s in-class mask mandate during a school board meeting. At the meeting, parents voiced their concern over the length of time children were required to keep their masks on while in school.
Mask mandates for children are increasingly becoming a hot-button issue as schools across the country resume in-person learning.
Parents also protested school mask mandates in Arizona, where school board members were forced to cancel a meeting due to the large number of angry parents who showed up.
During the protest, parents who gathered in the hallway of the district’s headquarters agreed to elect a new school board. Their decision may not carry any weight since the public must elect school board members in an election.
“These are my rights as a parent, and they don’t get to decide how I raise them and what I believe is true and factual,” one parent said of the school’s mask mandate.