Democratic (!!!) Virginia State Senator Chap Petersen has HAD IT with Fairfax County Public Schools and the other districts who thumbed their noses at Gov. Youngkin’s EO that was meant to give parents a choice. As Youngkin himself has pointed out, this EO is not pro or anti-mask, it’s really just about parents finally having a choice.
Districts fighting to ignore parents is really just a doubling down of WHY McAuliffe lost.
And Youngkin won.
Petersen sent a harshly worded letter to the superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools and has said he will vote with Republicans to remove any masking that’s still taking place forcibly in Virginia schools.
'I'VE HAD ENOUGH': A Democratic Virginia state senator is furious that FCPS has doubled own on the "inhumane… forced masking of children."
He says that he will vote with Republicans to end masking, and blasts the superintendent for politicizing schoolshttps://t.co/QM418oTTYL
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) February 8, 2022
Sounds like Chap means BUSINESS.
From The Daily Wire:
A Virginia Democrat state senator had his “Joe Manchin moment” when, in a fiery letter to the Fairfax County Public Schools superintendent, he responded to the district’s doubling down on what he called “Forced Masking of Children” by vowing to pass a law prohibiting it “in the coming days.”
“It has become hard, if not impossible, to find a respected medical researcher who still defends Forced Masking of Children as a public safety measure,” Sen. Chap Petersen wrote Monday. Petersen, a moderate Democrat from Fairfax City, serves in a state senate where Democrats have such a thin majority that, when he votes with Republicans, Republicans can pass legislation.
“The decision to wear a mask in public – when there is so little correlation with public health – makes it de facto a political decision. In other words, by wearing a mask in a public setting, the wearer is able to communicate a political message, e.g. “I Care About Others” or “I voted for Biden” … You are forcing children to make a political statement that they (and their parents) may not believe. That violates the First Amendment,” he wrote.
Violates the First Amendment.
Damn, son.
Chap Petersen, who plays a Joe Machin-like role in the Dem-controlled state senate, says data is clear that mask mandates don't change health outcomes, so their only utility is as a political symbol.
Forcing kids to wear one, then, is a violation of the 1st Amendment, he says.
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) February 8, 2022
"The decision to wear a mask in public – when there is so little correlation with public health – makes it de facto a political decision. In other words, by wearing a mask in a public setting, the wearer is able to communicate a political message, e.g. … 'I voted for Biden.'"
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) February 8, 2022
"For this reason, your argument that 'Forced Masking is Popular' is the very reason why this policy must end. You are forcing children to make a political statement that they (and their parents) may not believe. That violates the First Amendment."
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) February 8, 2022
It's worth everyone in the country reading the whole letter.
BTW, for those commenting without reading the story, know that Petersen has long supported kids — angering some official Dems — and played a key role in a law that forced them to quit "remote learning" last year.
— Luke Rosiak (@lukerosiak) February 8, 2022
In fact, Petersen is co-sponsoring bipartisan legislation to replace SB1303, the law districts keep clinging to claiming it gives them the power to keep children masked.
And these schools think THEY’RE the good guys.
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