The governor of Georgia is so opposed to a mask mandate that he has filed a lawsuit against the mayor of Atlanta and requested a restraining order to silence her, too.
Politics
Gov. Brian Kemp wants a mask mandate to never see the light of day in Georgia. In fact, he has gone so far as to issue an executive order banning city officials from requiring anyone to wear a mask in the Peach State.
By contrast, Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms of Atlanta desperately wants a mask mandate so as to help flatten the curve and has ordered the citizens of her city to wear masks at all times while in public.
Now, Gov. Kemp has filed a lawsuit to negate the mayor’s mask ruling and has even requested a restraining order to “silence” Mayor Bottoms from speaking on television or anywhere regarding the mask mandate fight.
“In addition to being sued over a mask mandate and voluntary advisory guidelines on COVID-19, @GovKemp has asked for an emergency injunction to ‘restrain’ me from issuing press statements and speaking to the press,” the mayor tweeted on Monday. “Far more have sacrificed too much more for me to be silent,” she added.
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In addition to being sued over a mask mandate and voluntary advisory guidelines on COVID-19, @GovKemp has asked for an emergency injunction to “restrain” me from issuing press statements and speaking to the press. Far more have sacrificed too much more for me to be silent. pic.twitter.com/gWlnZlCtoR
— Keisha Lance Bottoms (@KeishaBottoms) July 19, 2020
“He filed a 124-plus-page lawsuit against me this week calling for an emergency injunction to stop me from speaking about his orders,” the mayor said during a Sunday interview on CBS. “If the governor of this state had his way, I would not be allowed to speak with you today. And so this blame game is most unusual.”
Within the State of Georgia, Kemp’s no-mask ruling has not been at all popular among those hoping to get the pandemic numbers under control.
“It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us,” Savannah Mayor Van Johnson wrote on Twitter. “Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the science and survive the best you can. In #Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science. Masks will continue to be available!”
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It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us. Every man and woman for himself/herself. Ignore the science and survive the best you can.
In #Savannah, we will continue to keep the faith and follow the science. Masks will continue to be available!
— Mayor Van Johnson (@MayorJohnsonSAV) July 16, 2020
“What he continues to do is downplay not only the challenge to Georgians, but the deaths of Georgians,” former Kemp gubernatorial challenger Stacey Abrams said on MSNBC. “More than 3,000 Georgians have perished, disproportionately black and brown Georgians. And he continues to fiddle while Rome burns.”
Kemp signed an executive order last week explicitly banning Georgian cities from enacting any sort of mask mandate of their own. In fact, his order voided existing mask mandates in more than a dozen cities or counties throughout the state.
“This lawsuit is on behalf of the Atlanta business owners and their hardworking employees who are struggling to survive during these difficult times,” Kemp tweeted. “These men and women are doing their very best to put food on the table for their families while local elected officials shutter businesses and undermine economic growth,” he continued.
“There’s some people that just do not want to wear a mask,” the governor added. “I’m sensitive to that from a political environment of having people buy into that and creating other issues out there.”
“3104 Georgians have died and I and my family are amongst the 106k who have tested positive for COVID-19. Meanwhile, I have been sued by @GovKemp for a mask mandate,” Bottoms responded. “A better use of taxpayer money would be to expand testing and contact tracing. #ATLStrong”
Initially, Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (both Republicans) previously attempted to block officials of their cities and counties from issuing mask orders. However, both have since relented. Abbott issued a mask mandate for most counties earlier this month, while Ducey allowed cities and counties to go forward with mask mandates last month.
Okay so a few thoughts on this matter starting with this………….
[In fact, his order voided existing mask mandates in more than a dozen cities or counties throughout the state. ] -DJ
Yep. But unless I’m mistaken, the mayors of those other cities in GA are….Men.
The only mayor Kemp went after personally NOT only regarding the mask mandate but also in his sorry-azz attempt to try to silence that mayor is…..a Woman. And not just a woman but a smart, confident, articulate and very powerful Black woman.
Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms represents the only kind of person in America more terrifying to powerful white men (like Trump and Kemp) than an intelligent, strong and articulate Black man.