Despite what ignorant people may have told you, there is a clause in the Texas state mask mandate that exempts people with certain health conditions.
As was recently reported by Empower Texans:
In Section 2 of the statewide mask mandate, it reads that the mandate does not apply to:
“[A]ny person with a medical condition or disability that prevents wearing a face covering.”
We know, we know, the clerk at Walmart told you otherwise. But guess what? The clerk at Walmart isn't a lawyer.
That being said, we're not telling you to go out and argue with the guy at Home Depot over whether or not you have to wear a mask. That guy doesn't get paid enough to put up with a lecture and an argument about health laws. He's just trying to do his job.
But just know that, regardless of what the CNN talking heads told your Aunt Karen, masks mandates aren't some Nazi-like policy that requires absolute participation.
Not participating with the mask "rules" actually ruined one Texas woman's life, as Empower Texans pointed out.
On June 29, Karen Starnes—a married mother of three and a trained nurse—went to an Uptown Cheapskate clothing store in Watauga, Texas. Starnes was going to return sandals she had purchased from the store the day before, which she said broke shortly after trying them on at home.
Upon entering the store, she was asked to wear a mask. She refused, citing “a chronic condition that exempts her from wearing a mask.”
Instead of abiding by county and statewide exemptions, Starnes says the employees refused her service and accused her of not caring for others.
“That can’t be further from the truth, because I care about all lives,” she replied. “I care about all people that have chronic conditions and cannot wear a mask. It poses a risk to their health.”
She added she was “heartbroken and grieved” for those who had died from the coronavirus.
When she asked to speak to the store owner, she was told the owner instructed the employees not to serve her.
Starnes claimed there had been no issue the day before when she purchased the sandals. An employee later claimed on social media that management had disciplined the employees who hadn’t forced Starnes to wear a mask on that day.
Starnes beganlivestreaming her encounter, which shows other customers harassing her for not wearing a mask. She tried explaining that she has a “chronic condition,” which is considered an exemption from the government mandates.
The other customers accused her of lying and pulling a political stunt. Eventually, an employee told Starnes to leave the building. She refused.
The business called the local police, who arrived and advised Starnes that if she refused to leave the building when asked, she would be arrested for criminal trespassing.
“I’m not here for the mask; I’m here because they’ve asked you to leave,” the officer said. Starnes eventually complied and left the building, escorted by police. She was not arrested.
Texas Scorecardcontacted the store and spoke with Daren, who identified himself as the manager. “The city emailed us in regard to the fact that we have to have every individual in our store with a mask, dictated by the county ordinance,” he said. When asked if he was aware of the health exemption in the county mandate, Daren replied in part: “I can’t really tell you that, sir.”
When asked about more details of the mandate, he denied that the City of Watauga issued a mandate different from the county one. “The statement was that the county issued a statement saying that everyone requires face covering.”
“There is no way a small retailer would be able to determine whether or not there may be medical conditions or not,” he added. “So, we basically go on the generic value of what we’ve been told.” The manager also expressed frustration with continually changing government mandates, ranging from shutdown orders to how many people can be in their store.
“All we want to do is sell clothes. We don’t want to be political,” he said. “We’re a very small business.”
When asked what statement he would like to provide to members of the mental and physically challenged community, Daren said:
“We are currently changing our policies to accommodate the situation.”
A pedestrian wearing a protective mask walks in downtown Dallas, Texas on Wednesday, May 27, 2020. Texas Governor Greg Abbott allowed barsalong with rodeos, bowling alleys and bingo hallsto open their doors at reduced capacity in the second phase of the states plan to restart the economy after shutting down in early April to slow the coronavirus. Photographer: Cooper Neill/Bloomberg via Getty Images