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
