LIVING LIBERTY
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A PUBL ICAT ION OF THE FREEDOM FOUNDATION
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Inslee booed off stage over mask order Reprinted from the YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC June 30, 2020 (PASCO, Wash.) — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee was heckled and had to cut short his speech Tuesday on battling the coronavirus pandemic in Eastern Washington. Speaking outdoors at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, Inslee was repeatedly interrupted by hecklers as he urged residents to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus. “Open it up,’’ one heckler shouted in an apparent reference to widespread business closures in the Tri-Cities of Richland, Pasco and Kennewick. The community is still in Stage I of the pandemic, which means most businesses are shut down. The heckling continued as a masked Inslee spoke. Finally the Democratic governor, who used to represent the Tri-Cities in the U.S.
House, had had enough. “We’re going to go inside,’’ he said. Once inside, Inslee resumed his comments, and wondered why people continued to question the effectiveness of masks. “We need to pull together,’’
Inslee says mandatory face masks can help slow spread of virus
Freedom Foundation files lawsuit, calls Inslee’s mask mandate ‘over-reach’
By ALFRED CHARLES July 7, 2020
ns filed a lawsuit A group of Washington citize n that challenges datio through the Freedom Foun governor’s order, saythe of lity the constitutiona to free speech. The ing it infringes on their right able and they beplaintiffs argue its unenforceevidence that masks lieve there is little scientific work. Lead attorney Shella Sadovnik said people who refuse to wear masks are being harassed, like she was. “I am 6 months pregfor me to breathe,” she nant and it’s very difficult mask is not an option for said. “So, wearing a face me.”
Lawsuit c hallenges
July 7, 2020
An advocacy gr oup has filed a lawsuit ch Washington’s m allenging and whether G ask mandate, ov and Secretary of ernor Inslee Wiesman have Health John th to issue such an e authority or The lawsuit w der. the Freedom Fo as filed by undation, a non-profit orga nization with offices in Washi ngton, Oregon, Ohio and California. According to its the Freedom Fo website, undation’s mission is to “a dv dividual liberty ance in, prise, and limite free enterable governmen d, accountt.” The organizatio equated the mas n has Washington to k mandate in “government Free-
Freedom F ou sues Wash ndation in masks ‘jun gton, calls k science’ RYAN J.
sk, s a o-m take n ’s r nor orde ngton i e vic Wash2020 pub nal suit o , i t 7 w t in — July tion, a nfialed a lnajunc- n
FARRICK — July 7, 2020 The Freedo m Fo un da over a recent tion is suing wear face m ly enacted order requiri Washington state asks ng residents to Washington in public. requires mas use both in k public places private busin and in Gov. Jay In esses. While state sle pects most re e says he exwithout thre sidents to comply enforcemen at of consequence, t refusing to of penalties for wear masks an option. remains However, th e Freedom Fo wh undation ha io ether state Gov. Jay s questioned ARD an i latJo nda pia, Inslee Wiesman ha Fou Olym eking the vio to hn EON ve sufficient and Secretary of Health L en m ac t constitutiona S e an o d in I d enforce su s r d . o l authority s e ch ru Their lawsui re base nian elief f t said F t, notes KO les. e ag o ai M nst the orde gt , th ion r’s enforcem O, requests an injunctio lain s “r ent. n eek izat ashin nt a omp
W ec me gan y or f sevenrequire ies,” th t o alf mask d liber the ts an h l rig
he said. “If we mask up, we can open up.’’ Inslee noted that a large number of TriCities leaders, including former U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis, Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Newhouse, local politicians and physicians were all publicly urging people to wear masks. “No one voted for those people out in the courtyard today,” Inslee said of the protesters. “This is a pandemic,’’ the governor added. “Only a community response can be successful.’’ The Tri-Cities, located in southeastern Washington state, is one of the state’s COVID-19 hotspots. Benton and Franklin counties com bined have more than 3,000 confirmed cases of the virus and detected cases are rapidly growing. Inslee recently ordered that residents of Washington must wear masks when in public, and that has drawn intense criticism from some people.
dom Foundation
No-mask, no service rule takes effect
Last week, the Freedom Foundation, a national public policy organization based in Olympia, filed a lawsuit on behalf of seven Washingtonians seeking an injunction to the mask requirement as “relief for the violation of civil rights and liberties,” the complaint said.
tutionality of mask ordinances. In addition to requiring face masks, the governor’s “Anyone can file a lawsuit proc lamation also requires who wants to waste their employer cooperation with money, and we believe COVID-19 investigations we are in very firm conby public health authoristitutional and statutory ties and compliance with grounds,” Inslee said, citing any other orders or direcseveral previous resolutions tives. that upheld the consti-
