People cannot be forced to wear masks.

[kentuck]

If you see someone coming down the street without a mask and you feel they might be a threat to you, go to the other side of the street. The next Civil War should not be fought over whether or not to wear a mask.

The thing is that if Donald Trump had come out in the beginning of this health crisis and encouraged people to wear masks, almost everyone would be wearing masks. The problem is with the lack of leadership. It is a dangerous deficit.

One side cannot coerce the other side to do what they want. People rebel at such thoughts. So put them in jail? Fine them? Beat them to a pulp until they cooperate?

[mr_lebowski]

1. Pretty sure they can when they're on property property that is not theirs ...

Or be removed from said property.

That said, yes ... had Trump been responsible rather than derelict in his duties ... we wouldn't have nearly as many stupid people acting stupid.

[wryter2000]

2. Don't let them in the store

And don’t let them get close to you

[pampango]

28. We all accept "No Shoes, No Shirt, No Service". Just add "No Mask" to the sign.

How are is that?

[Thekaspervote]

33. This! Your choice..either works- come in with a mask, or go home

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. If they're on private property they have the choice of wearing one or leaving.

[samnsara]

4. our gov has mandated no mask no service..but i will never confront anyone..

...for not wearing one. Im too chicken shit plus I dont know their story...

[leftyladyfrommo]

20. Plus you don't know how crazy they are and if they

have a 9mm in their pants.

[JCMach1]

5. Tickets all day... similar issue to seat belts

Monetary reminders will do nicely!

[LakeArenal]

19. Have you heard of anyone fined?

I have not. Not in US anyway.

[Champp]

6. Shun germ-spreading Republicans

The no-mask Republicans are entitled only to hob nob with other germ spreaders.

[better]

7. Beat them, no. The rest, absolutely.

This is not a question of taking your hotdog with ketchup or mustard.
It's protecting versus endangering the lives of those around you.

You don't get to walk around aiming guns at people, because of the potential for injury.
Neither do you get to walk around aiming an unmasked face at people in the middle of a pandemic, for the exact same reason.

What is both right and required IS in fact to fine AND imprison people for this conduct.
Exactly the same as we would one who brandishes weapons at people.

Because that is what it is.

[Laelth]

8. The police are fully capable of enforcing lawful mask-wearing orders.

You can be assured that they would quickly arrest and jail a person walking into Walmart with no clothes (even if the person was wearing a mask), but a number of Sheriffs have declared that they will not enforce mask orders because they’re not the “mask police.” I call bullshit!

The truth is that the government tells us what we must wear in public ALL THE TIME. It’s actually safer to run around naked, with a mask, than it is to run around clothed without a mask. Law enforcement should enforce the mask laws. They swore oaths to protect the people. They can and SHOULD aid in protecting us from COVID-19 if they will just take their oaths seriously.

-Laelth

[Ferrets are Cool]

11. Thank you.

[exboyfil]

13. Exactly

[empedocles]

9. In autoparts store last night. Door sign said masks required. Staff and

about 60% of customers had masks. 6' distancing observed. Droplet issue bothers me. No apparent enforcement of mask requirement.

Seems typical enough.

[Ferrets are Cool]

10. Fine the fuck out of them. Let me ask you this???

If I walk down the street naked, I am not hurting anyone, but will get arrested quickly. If a person is walking down the street and there is a law in place that you MUST wear a mask in public, WHY should THEY not get arrested?

I will await your answer.

[kentuck]

15. Laws are usually created from a consensus of the people.

There is not a consensus on masks at this time, thanks to Mr Trump.

There would likely be a consensus about your right to walk down the street naked.

Sorry. That's all I got.

[Ferrets are Cool]

18. A law isn't a concensus?

It is a law in MY state that one must wear a mask when out in public. Yet, I see hundreds of people every day breaking the law. When I asked the manager of Lowes why he is letting people walk into his store breaking the law, he said it wasn't his job to enforce the law. Yet, if he caught someone shoplifting, I bet he would become a enforcer of the law then.

[kentuck]

21. Laws that do not have the consensus of the people do not last very long.

It is a consensus of most people that shoplifting is a crime and should be enforced.

[Ferrets are Cool]

31. I honestly do not see where the words "law" and "consensus" are conjoined.

It is a LAW to wear a mask. It doesn't matter whether you agree with it or not. If it is not followed, you SHOULD be arrested or fined. I don't understand what is so hard to understand about this.

[kentuck]

34. Have you heard of Prohibition?

People rebelled against it. A few religious nuts thought everyone should stop drinking.

[LanternWaste]

44. After this, therefor because of this?

[Ferrets are Cool]

46. I don't agree with laws against pot, but until it is legalized in MY state

you had better not go around smoking it. It is illegal. So is not wearing a mask.

I don't even know what we are arguing about. Sheesh.

People who don't follow the law should be fined or jailed. Period, end of discussion.

[OhioChick]

47. Absolutely!

Qatar made masks mandatory, if you were caught not wearing them, you faced a $55K fine and 3 years in jail.

It worked because Qatar now has had 105K cases with 101K recovered and only 150 deaths.

[doc03]

12. No shirt no shoes no service, I am sure they

could add a mask to that.

[exboyfil]

14. Or a shirt with a basketball player on it

Wait a second. That only applies if you are black.

[SoonerPride]

16. Sure they can.

If you have to wear pants in public you can be forced to wear a mask.

It’s pretty simple.

[DesertRat]

17. +1

[EarlG]

29. Yup

If we can make everyone cover their genitals in public in order to avoid offending the delicate sensibilities of others, why can't we make everyone wear a mouth-and-nose covering in public in order to KEEP OTHERS ALIVE?

Maybe not wearing a mask should be considered indecent exposure.

[kentuck]

32. People have to believe it is to "keep others alive"...

...and that it is not a "hoax".

Otherwise, it is just a difference in opinion.

Half the sheriffs in this country probably believe it is a hoax?

Waist deep in the Big Muddy and the damn fool says, "March on!" And they continue to march...

[Caliman73]

45. So then you are talking about another issue.

Your premise was that people cannot be forced to wear a mask.

When other people respond that the issue is similar to seat belts and clothing, you jumped to consensus.

Seat belt laws were not appreciated when they first came out. Neither were helmet laws. People learned to live with them, though there are still those who vehemently oppose both.

Public Health policies like masks, quarantines, and shelter in place cannot rely on "consensus" because they are based on maximum protection during emergencies.

The problem as you said, stems more from the fact that the idiot in the White House has made it strictly a political issue when it is a public health one, and the right wing, with their own media ecosystem, has fed conspiracy and stupidity to their consumers.

[tavernier]

40. Wow, you read my mind word for word.

You must be an extremely intelligent person.

[SoonerPride]

42. GMTA

[Ms. Toad]

22. Yes they can.

Currently, in Ohio, they are enforceable as a misdemeanor - which means fines and potential jail time.

To address a comment you made below, there are two kinds of criminal laws:

malum in se (those things that are inherently prohibited because society agrees they are wrong - murder, for example)
malum prohibitum (those things that are made crimes by statute - not because society necessarily agrees they are wrong - wearing a seat belt, for example)

Mask laws fall in the latter category, not the former.

[kentuck]

24. A lot of people do not wear their seat belts.

Regardless of what the statute says.

[Ms. Toad]

26. A lot of people speed, and a fair number kill others.

Making something a crime does not necessarily mean 100% enforcement.

But it means that most people will obey the law - and if they don't, there are tools to compel compliance (i.e. to force them).

As to seatbelts - many states have express exclusions that prohibit stopping a driver merely for not wearing a seatbelt to avoid pretextual use of a seatbelt violation to initiate a search of the car or driver. BUT - if you are stopped for speeding, because you have a taillight out, etc., you're going to get a ticket.

[Liberal In Texas]

23. This isn't rocket science. If there is a law that says masks have to be worn in public

you fine people who don't. Enforced by the police. If someone is a serial violator you up the fines and if they keep doing it (scofflaws) you give them a jail sentence.

[kentuck]

25. Unless they are carrying AR-15s...

...then the police can ignore them.

[jimlup]

27. Nor can people be forced to wear pants in public

though most do...

[Fullduplexxx]

30. Time to get a 6ft cattle prod

[GulfCoast66]

35. Your right, they can't.

But they can be made to wish they had.

[kentuck]

36. once they see the truth...

..they will wear it voluntarily.

[MFM008]

37. Ticket them

Until it hurts.
They dont get to kill those of us
Playing by the rules.

[Baclava]

38. The next civil war will be about masks or no masks? Humans are done, let the machines have it all

[hlthe2b]

39. I will pepper spray them if they get in my (masked) face with their unmasked, defiant, angry face

(I'd only do so with the aggressive, threatening types, obviously, but then that's why I've carried a thin cylinder of pepper spray as my keychain for years).

I can see the good in people. But, especially now, I'm prepared for the opposite.

[lame54]

41. Keep them out of stores...

They'll eventually have to give in

[GeorgeGist]

43. Can you force them to wear clothes?

[KentuckyWoman]

48. I am thinking of going around in a mask but nothing else.

When the cell phones start coming out and the cops show up, I will just say Dave Cunningham, a lawyer, told me cloth over my body is unconstitutional. Plus it is an abomination to God.

[TomSlick]

49. The governmental interest in slowing a pandemic is a compelling state interest.

There is no constitutional right to not wear a mask. I don't see a legal problem.

Pass a statute or ordinance requiring wearing face covering in public. Include in that statute or ordinance the penalty for disobedience - then enforce the law. I'd establish an increasing penalty for multiple offenses - increasing fines and ultimately jail.

[lostnfound]

50. Appreciate this view but extraordinary times demand extraordinary measures

1) In many situations I tend to favor less rules and less government intrusion, but this is a scenario where ones decision can cause imminent agonizing death of dozens of other people. Akin to drunk driving, even worse in a way because people can sometimes identify and avoid the drunk driver as he swerves, but a carrier may have no outward sign of being sick.

2) public transit is useless unless universal masks are mandated.

They don’t need to make it mandatory in Japan because they are a considerate culture with proper education and self discipline, whereas the United States is a basket of Human pearls mixed with selfish uncouth swine.

Sorry if that’s harsh but gee the light of day is brutal these days.