Face Masks What you need to know to protect yourself and your Children

OUR STAND

As the United States begins to re-open from lockdowns, jurisdictions are instituting measures that dictate how people are able to participate in society. One of the most common is compulsory mask-wearing.

Officials throughout the country are seeking policy guidance on masks from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has flip-flopped its position on face coverings several times since March but is now recommending that everyone wear a mask in public.

State and local authorities are taking varying approaches in what their emergency mask orders stipulate and how they will be enforced. Rules differ by state and are constantly changing. However, to date, only a handful of states don’t have any mandatory mask measures.

Though CDC’s policy guidance encourages the use of face masks, there is substantial evidence showing that masks are harmful and a lack of evidence showing they are effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus. Studies show that wearing a face covering reduces blood and tissue oxygenation — which can be deadly — while increasing carbon dioxide levels. Mask-wearing can also increase the risk of infection and the spread of viral illness, hinder detoxification that occurs via exhalation, impair the immune system and cause many other ailments, both physical and emotional. Moreover, some masks have been found to contain known carcinogens, which put people at risk from inhaling toxic chemicals and having them come into contact with their skin.

Lawsuits are now being filed throughout the country to challenge mandatory masks. Despite evidence of harm and questionable evidence of benefit, fall 2020 school guidelines across the country are calling for mandatory masks. Public school systems (e.g., San Diego, California) are concerned that mask requirements in the classroom will spark even more legal battles.

It is unethical and unconstitutional to force healthy citizens to abide by measures that can result in physical and emotional harm and that impinge on their ability to move freely throughout society without discrimination. For those with deeply held religious beliefs, mask mandates violate their ability to abide by natural law and follow their convictions to walk in faith, not fear. As such, the decision to wear a mask is a highly personal one and should not be universally mandated; measures that are meant to protect the community as a whole are ineffective if they hurt individuals in that community. Please email and tweet your lawmakers now and urge them to do their part to make sure that mask-wearing is voluntary, not mandatory.

CALL TO ACTION

Do I have to wear a mask? Should I just wear a mask to avoid being heckled or harassed? What if wearing a mask makes me feel unwell? These are just a few of the questions that people are grappling with as a growing number of jurisdictions nationwide institute mandatory mask measures.

At present, all but a handful of states call for mandatory mask-wearing, and many cities have their own mask ordinances.[1],[2],[3] However, Stand for Health Freedom believes that wearing a mask should be an individual’s choice. A growing contingent of individuals are concerned that mandatory mask policies jeopardize bodily, civil and constitutional rights.

Mandatory Masks Can Cause Considerable Harm and Are Not Proven Effective

Evidence that face masks reduce the transmission of viral respiratory infections within community settings is equivocal at best.[4],[5],[6] A recent meta-analysis of scientific literature, including 11 randomized, controlled trials and 10 observational studies, found that there was no clear clinical or laboratory-confirmed evidence that masks prevent infection.[7]

To the contrary, the study warned that facemasks “…may even increase transmission if they act as fomites [objects or materials that are likely to carry infection] or prompt other behaviours that transmit the virus such as face touching.”

This echoes World Health Organization (WHO) guidance published on January 29, 2020 titled, “Advice on the use of masks in the community, during home care and in healthcare settings in the context of the novel coronavirus (‎‎‎‎‎2019-nCoV)‎‎‎‎‎ outbreak.”[8] In it, the WHO says, “Wearing medical masks when not indicated may cause unnecessary cost, procurement burden and create a false sense of security that can lead to neglecting other essential measures such as hand hygiene practices.” Furthermore, the January 2020 WHO guidance stated, “Cloth (e.g., cotton or gauze) masks are not recommended under any circumstance.”

Cloth masks have been found to be particularly problematic,[9],[10],[11] and some masks have raised concerns because they’ve been treated with a registered pesticide.[12],[13] A British Medical Journal (BMJ) study published in April 2020 cautions against the use of cloth masks, citing “Moisture retention, reuse of cloth masks and poor filtration may result in increased risk of infection.”[14] The WHO affirms increased infection risk with cloth masks in its latest June 5, 2020 guidance.[15] It based its guidance on an earlier BMJ study that found the penetration of particles to be 97% in the cloth mask group, with significantly higher rates of infection and influenza-like illness.[16]

A study on the CDC website that reviewed 10 different randomized clinical trials worldwide on highly infectious respiratory virus transmission found “no significant reduction” in “transmission with the use of face masks.”[17]

Given the lack of evidence for their use,[18],[19],[20],[21],[22],[23] and flip-flopping advice both against[24][25] and for their use by authoritative health agencies like the WHO, the increasing pressure to wear masks in public — and to be able to access basic services required to maintain one’s health, liberty and livelihood — constitutes an unnecessary power grab and means of controlling the population.

Fear Is Driving Violence and Aggression

Nonstop media and social media coverage of coronavirus has generated unprecedented levels of fear, panic and anxiety.[26],[27],[28] On June 30, Dr. Anthony Fauci warned lawmakers that we could easily see 100,000 new cases of coronavirus each day.[29],[30] Fauci stated that he is unable to accurately predict the incidence and mortality that the US will eventually see, but he declared, “It’s going to be very disturbing, I will guarantee you that.”[31],[32]

Some individuals are now fraught with so much panic and worry[33] that they are becoming violent toward family members[34] and anyone they believe is a threat to their personal safety. Aggression toward those who don’t wear masks is becoming is increasingly common and ranges from verbal threats, to assault and battery, to murder.

In March, an 86-year-old dementia patient was killed in a Brooklyn emergency room after she lost her bearings and grabbed onto another patient’s IV pole to steady herself.[35] The patient, 32-year-old Cassandra Lundy, became irate that the elderly woman, Janie Marshall, had broken social distancing guidelines and then knocked her to the floor.[36]

Ms. Marshall — who initially went to the ER for severe abdominal pains — struck her head on the floor, lost consciousness and died hours later. According to reports, Ms. Lundy, who has been charged with manslaughter, told detectives that she shoved Ms. Marshall because the elderly woman “got into the defendant’s space.”[37]

The Great Mask Divide

Masks have become one of the most controversial issues of our time.[38],[39],[40] Those who are seen in public without a mask are often judged and discriminated against,[41],[42] even if they have a condition that precludes compliance. Harassment and discrimination have become rampant,[43],[44] and fellow citizens are policing each other with very little to no knowledge of why someone may or may not be wearing a mask.[45],[46]

Even in communities that have mask exceptions for certain members of the population, those individuals are no longer allowed to fully participate in society because businesses are barring them or won’t provide services to them without a mask. It’s a breach of an individual’s privacy and autonomy to not be able to go into public without being discriminated against, and banning people from entering or participating in society because they don’t wear a mask violates their constitutional rights.[47]

These types of breaches have sparked lawsuits nationwide from individuals claiming they have been personally or financially harmed from mandatory mask measures.[48],[49],[50] Some also contend that forcing people with medical conditions to wear masks violates Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act,[51] which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability of “enjoyment of services, facilities, privileges, advantages or accommodations by any person who … operates a place of public accommodation.”[52]

Individual Health Is the Responsibility of the Individual, Not the State

With unbridled governmental control throughout much of 2020 — under the guise of emergency orders needed to curb coronavirus — citizens from coast to coast have seen their civil, constitutional and religious rights trampled upon.[53],[54] An onslaught of executive orders have shaped nearly every aspect of our personal lives, from where we can go and what activities we’re allowed to engage in, to how we educate our children, to how we earn a living, to how we worship. [55]

They have also dictated which medical philosophies we embrace and which medical treatments we can receive. In doing so, we’ve been extremely restricted in how we’ve been able to care for ourselves and support our immune systems — and we’ve been asked to follow guidelines that are not evidence-based “for the greater good.”

Although the government plays a role in controlling the spread of infectious illness, adults are responsible for their own health;[56] each person has the right to responsibly make choices about what precautions and perceived risks they take. It’s not incumbent on government officials to direct individual health decisions, and granting them this power is dangerous. Individuals are much more qualified than public servants to weigh the risks and benefits of their own personal actions.

Public officials should not impose mandates to seek compliance. Mandates perpetuate the idea that individuals lack the moral or intellectual capacity to make sound decisions for themselves and their children, so the state needs to do it for them.[57] Individuals are capable of making responsible decisions,[58] and those decisions must take a person’s whole health into account.

The health of the individual cannot be forsaken or sacrificed for the collective. We can only have a healthy society when that society is made up of healthy individuals.[59] Health is a personal right and responsibility. It is not something that we should look to the government to bestow on us or guarantee.

Masks as “Submission Signaling”

There is no compelling scientific evidence to justify the widespread push to mandate universal mask-wearing.[60] The demonstrated risks [61],[62],[63] far outweigh the purported benefits. Whereas those who wear masks believe they are “virtue signaling” their concern for the weakest and most vulnerable among us, those who refuse to submit to authoritarian decrees do so because they believe that health is a personal responsibility — and that it is up to them to decide what precautionary measures they implement to avoid a virus with an estimated case fatality rate of .1% to .26%.[64]

At-risk populations and those who are sick can self-isolate, and society should take the best care of them possible. However, healthy, law-abiding citizens should not be forced to take any precaution that can result in physical[65] and emotional harm[66] and that impinges on their constitutional rights; this includes the right to bodily autonomy, the right to move about freely, the right to participate in society and connect with others, and the right to be free from unreasonable government intrusion.[67]

It’s Time to Stand – Urge Your Lawmakers to Make Face Coverings Voluntary

Never before has it been so important for you to stand up for your rights! Mandatory medicine and mandated interventions such as social distancing and mask-wearing have no place in a free society;[68],[69] citizens have the right to make responsible decisions about what is best for themselves and their children based on their own unique circumstances.

Please stand up against medical tyranny by sending your state and local officials a pre-drafted email and tweet urging them to protect everyone in the community by ensuring that masks are voluntary, not mandatory. When you’re finished, please share this vital campaign with your friends, family, neighbors and co-workers. Remind them that constitutional rights don’t stop being important in times of emergency;[70],[71] they become more important.

SEND YOUR LETTER NOW

References

[1] https://www.littler.com/publication-press/publication/facing-your-face-mask-duties-list-statewide-orders

2] https://www.businessinsider.com/coronavirus-the-17-states-requiring-people-to-wear-masks-public-2020-6

[3] https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2020/07/03/covid-face-masks-states-require-public/5371503002/

[4] Med Hypotheses. 2020 May 19;143:109855.doi: 10.1016/j.mehy.2020.109855. Online ahead of print.

[5] Ann Intern Med. 2020 Jun 24;M20-3213. doi: 10.7326/M20-3213. Online ahead of print.

[6] medRxiv – April 6, 2020

[7] https://www.qeios.com/read/1SC5L4

[8] https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/330987

[9] https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/5/4/e006577

[10] Cardiol J. 2020;27(2):218-219. doi: 10.5603/CJ.a2020.0054. Epub 2020 Apr 14.