The ridiculous ill-advised and ill-timed culture war over facemasks rages on as Georgia Governor Brian Kemp moves to explicitly ban cities and counties in the state from issuing mandatory mask-wearing ordinances. CBS News reports that Gov. Kemp voided orders from 15 cities and counties in the state that adopted mandatory mask orders in public places on Wednesday, affecting 1.4 million Georgians who were protected by mask rules in Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah, Rome, and Athens-Clarke County, to name a few. The governor’s order also bans local government buildings from requiring visitors to wear masks inside public buildings.
As of July 16th, the New York Times reports that Georgia currently has 118,147 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with a total of 3,030 deaths. While new cases remained steady in May and June — which lead to a quick reopening of the state — cases began to rapidly climb over the last several weeks.
Governor Kemp’s decision to prevent cities and counties from issuing mask orders has angered many Georgians and elected officials in the state who promptly took to Twitter to criticize the governor. Gov. Kemp is already a polarizing figure in Georgia politics after being widely accused of stealing an election from Stacey Abrams in 2016.
Abrams offered some of the sharpest criticism of Kemp’s decision in an MSNBC interview after his announcement on Wednesday. She her response and that of others below:
"From the beginning of this catastrophe, Brian Kemp has demonstrated that he has absolutely no competency in this process," Stacey Abrams says of the governor's decision to void local mask mandates. "What he continues to do is downplay … the deaths of Georgians." pic.twitter.com/6gl5GPs2GB
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) July 16, 2020
Gov. Kemp’s attempt to ban Georgia’s cities and counties from requiring masks in stores, public buildings, etc. is inexplicable and unconscionable.
— Jon Ossoff (@ossoff) July 16, 2020
Last night, @BrianKempGA signed an executive order banning local mask mandates. Thousands of people are going to die all because Kemp wants to be Trump’s favorite boy. Is this why you stole the election from Stacey Abrams, @BrianKempGA? So you could murder your citizens?
— blaire erskine (@blaireerskine) July 16, 2020
Stacey Abrams wouldn't have done this.
Kemp did because Trump landed in Atlanta without a mask on. Atlanta had a mask ordinance. Kemp bowed to the pressure, low enough to lick Trump's boots.
Kemp is not up for re-election, but he could be recalled.#RecallKemp https://t.co/Ia2FBDsE3L
— Holly Figueroa O'Reilly 🌸 (@AynRandPaulRyan) July 16, 2020
https://twitter.com/QasimRashid/status/1283740216692547587
https://twitter.com/Biggan4Congress/status/1283772893277683712
Georgia, this knucklehead wants voters to die. He thinks only black and brown Democrats die from it. #FUCKKEMP! #WearADamnMask
Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp forbids cities, counties from requiring masks as coronavirus surges in the state https://t.co/D32GqjG6d0— bettemidler (@BetteMidler) July 16, 2020
The thing about Kemp's executive order is that he's not just refraining from mandating masks across the state of Georgia, but he's literally voiding mandates in individual cities and localities. Nothing like "fighting big government" with…big government.
— char 🌻 (@charlizzleswamp) July 16, 2020
Brian Kemp is going full Ron Desantis. Never ever go full Ron Desantis.
— Jesse D Lifson (@DoYouEvenLif) July 16, 2020
Georgia "governor" Brian Kemp bans cities and counties from issuing mask orders to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
But Kemp's executive order "strongly" encourages residents and visitors to wear face coverings.
This country, man. pic.twitter.com/N8eFskYUkp
— J.E. Skeets (@jeskeets) July 16, 2020
Your reminder that voter suppression gave Georgia Brian Kemp. https://t.co/LKlqa3oJyP
— Robert Reich (@RBReich) July 16, 2020