Anchorage residents launch dueling mask petitions: One favors mask law, one opposes

By
Suzanne Downing
-
30

Two petitions active on Change.org are of interest to Anchorage residents concerned about the proposed mask ordinance.

The first, launched on Sept. 30, favors the ordinance now being considered by the Anchorage Assembly. AO 2021-91 would require all people over the age of 2 who are within the city limits to wear face masks whenever in a public indoor place and for some private indoor or outdoor gatherings.

That petition, “Support Anchorage mask mandate,” which has 2,043 signatures at of 5 am on Oct. 11, was launched by Rachel Westbrook.

According to her petition, “The Anchorage Assembly will be voting on a mask mandate. If passed this mandate would last until December 31, 2021. With hospitalizations and case counts rising in Anchorage every day, Providence Alaska and the American Academy of Pediatrics Alaska Chapter support a mask mandate. This is essential to take the pressure off of our health care system and protect our community. If you are unable to attend the public hearings in Anchorage and would like to show your support for this mask mandate please join this petition.”

The second petition, “People against the mask mandate in Anchorage,” was launched Friday, Oct. 8, and has 2,013 signatures, as of this writing. It was launched by Roger Peterson, an information technology employee of the University of Alaska.

The anti-mask petition states, “The Anchorage Assembly will be voting on a mask ordinance. If passed this ordinance supposedly would last until December 31, 2021. We all know what happened with the last mandate. They kept extending it. There are people who can’t wear a mask for several reasons, whether it be physical, medical or psychological. Children are wearing masks at school. This has caused some of them to get constant headaches, become depressed and argue with school staff when they take the mask off their noses to breathe easier.. Our constitution guarantees us the right for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This ordinance takes away this freedom. Wearing a mask should be a choice, not an ordinance.”

The Assembly is expected to take action at Tuesday’s regular meeting, which starts at 5 pm on the ground floor of the Loussac Library, unless that meeting is cancelled due to an outbreak of the contagion the mask proponents are hoping to prevent.

Read: Assemblyman Perez-Verdia has had enough, wants to pass the mask mandate now

Anchorage Assemblyman Perez-Verdia calls for emergency order to shut down public process and pass compulsory mask law

30 COMMENTS

  1. I wonder what safeguards might be in place to prevent non-Anchorage residents — or non-Alaskans, for that matter — signing their names, or signing false names, to these petitions. I am thinking of course mainly about the “Support” petition in that regard, as we all know that radical leftists, who have no scruples, will do ANYTHING dishonest to further their agenda.

    • My thoughts, exactly. So what if they have a petition that can be signed by anyone in the world? The People of Anchirage have spoken overwhelmingly against the mandate.

    • Only republicans caught cheating in the last presidential election, voting dead family member ballots. Do you have any proof to back your claim? Or did you read it on Facebook?

      • Now, that just does not make sense.
        .
        Only Republicans have been caught cheating, yet the overwhelming majority of the opposition to election audits has been from Democrats. In fact, the Republicans are generally clamoring for election audits.
        .
        Does not seem to add up. Why would the party that is cheating demand across the board audits???

        • Because they are grasping at straws because, boo hoo, they lost. look up the audits. Biden won by a larger margin than originally counted, because they found more illegal or miscounted votes that were for trump and threw them out.

          • Good grief. There is truly two different dimensions. One dimension sees the other dimension. The other thinks it’s the only dimension and doesn’t think the liberal media and the Democrat party is full of confirmation bias and spins every fact at every opportunity. If Democrats play so fair, then why can’t you put forth a better candidate than Biden? The DNC isn’t only screwing over republicans. It’s also screwing over Democrat voters, but go ahead and enjoy whatever you want to believe. If you ignore it, your party is only going to continue to embarass you.

  2. Answer to Mayor Bronson question “what is a norm” that was not answered by Assemblyperson LaFrance nor by the lackluster legal counsel but may be answered at least in part in Mason’s Legislative Manual on page 18. This may answer some of the question.

  3. Suzanne please consider not using leftwing verbiage when describing people who are in support of mask freedom I don’t claim to speak for anyone but to infer that people who are against forced mask wearing are “anti-mask” gives the impression we want to take away the right of people to wear a mask
    which I believe is simply not the case and is another way the leftwing media paints a negative picture of anyone who is against coercive mask dictates.

  4. This circus amazes me. If you believe wearing a mask will prevent transmission of a virus, then wear one. Why so much hysteria from the “mask mandate” crowd for others to wear a mask? If it works, and you are wearing one; then why does it matter if others choose to comply?
    Lots of irrational paranoia with the mandate mob.

    Can’t forget to mention that Dunleavy, Murkowski, and Young are spineless pathetic individuals and need to resign or retire.

    • Steve, still peddling your pro-establishment LIES again, I see.
      .
      “If everyone was to wear a mask.everyone would would be very protected from contracting or giving covid.”
      .
      That is a blatant untruth, Steve, and you know it. Not only are there few if any scientific studies that demonstrate the efficacy of viral disease transmission via the widespread wearing of masks by the public, there are numerous scientific studies showing precisely the opposite, that public mask wearing makes very little if any difference in disease transmission. Yet you once again repeat the lie of their efficacy here to advance your authoritarian and pro-establishment agenda.
      .
      Not only is public mask wearing useless and nonsensical, it is profoundly unhealthy, for multiple reasons, when engaged in daily or long term. It is also utterly dehumanizing, but I think your side actually sees that as a benefit.

  6. AO 2021-91 has a little referenced benchmark:

    If positive tests on a rolling 7-day average are greater than 8%, the mandate shall remain in effect. (See ordinance Page 4, Section 2

    The PCR test have been said to be wildly inaccurate producing many false positives.

    This ordinance, which is not statute (state), or a law (federal), it is merely a local ordinance. When rules, statutes or laws are immoral or unconstitutional it is one’s duty to civilly disobey.

    Resistance to tyranny is allegiance to God.

  7. The Left typically frames all issues in terms most favorable to them. For instance: Those who do not believe in state-sanctioned killing of a developing human in a mother are termed ANTIabortion or ANTIchoice.
    When we allow folks who believe we can ALL MAKE OUR OWN DECISIONS on our health, including wearing a mask for ourselves or our children, we are accepting the moniker, “ANTImask.
    This label will not bode well for long even if it makes it easy to see who is on the two sides.
    We should look at it as being PRO-CHOICE when it comes to our health, including masks.
    I know, the Left thinks they own the word, “Prochoice.” They do not.
    Being antimask is not even accurate, folks. Those of us who do not wear masks do NOT and NEVER plan to mandate to all mask wearers that they must remove their masks. The left is the ANTIchoice crowd this time. So be careful to not happily jump in the pot the Left has been stirring for far too long.

    • I would say that I am tired of the dysfunctional assembly that we have. I live in assembly district two, and I am seeing Eaglexit as a viable option. We have 50k population. We have the tax base and the ability to develop. Let’s make the second largest municipality in Alaska. .

      • If you guys did that and this assembly and the elitist lefties continued to ignore anything that sounds like a conservative perspective, there might be a mass exodus and you will become the biggest municipality in Alaska that thrives and is beautiful while Anchorage continues it’s trajectory into becoming a big porta potty.

  10. If this person should attempt to shut down the meetings, he might have a “small little war on his hands”. ALL he is: tired of the continuing line of people using their “Constitutional RIGHTS to share their opposition.. He wants it all done and over with, so they can go ahead with the rest of THEIR Agenda.. They also have a few things “up their sleeve” like running their bulldozer over Mayor Bronson..

    • If by some “strange chance”, if someone should misinterpret that I meant civil unrest/small war…you’re dead wrong. Yes, I know people have HAVE poured/acted out their anger on their own in the meetings, BUT I never would suggest other people to act out on their anger..

    • “https://www.change.org/p/anchorage-assembly-people-against-the-mask-mandate-in-anchorage-alaska/f?source_location=psf_petitions”
      Try copy and paste in your browser. It was working 5 minutes ago.

  13. We see at gov.texas.gov/news/post/governor-abbott-issues-executive-order-prohibiting-government-entities-from-mandating-masks:
    .
    “Governor Greg Abbott (on May 18, 2021) issued an Executive Order prohibiting governmental entities in Texas — including counties, cities, school districts, public health authorities, or government officials — from requiring or mandating mask wearing. Public schools may continue to follow current mask-wearing guidelines through June 4. After June 4, no student, teacher, parent, or other staff member or visitor can be required to wear a mask while on campus.
    .
    Beginning May 21, local governments or officials that attempt to impose a mask mandate or impose a limitation inconsistent or conflicting with the Executive Order can be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.
    .
    The Lone Star State continues to defeat COVID-19 through the use of widely-available vaccines, antibody therapeutic drugs, and safe practices utilized by Texans in our communities,” said Governor Abbott. “Texans, not government, should decide their best health practices, which is why masks will not be mandated by public school districts or government entities. We can continue to mitigate COVID-19 while defending Texans’ liberty to choose whether or not they mask up.”
    .
    Text of Governor Abbott’s Executive Order is at: gov.texas.gov/uploads/files/press/EO-GA-36_prohibition_on_mandating_face_coverings_response_to_COVID-19_disaster_IMAGE_05-18-2021.pdf
    .
    We respectfully request Governor Dunleavy defuse potential for further public conflict by expediting issuance of an identical Executive Order.

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