Elmira, New York, December 15, 2021: The Libertarian Party of Chemung County (LPCC) denounces Governor Kathy Hochul’s newest Mask or Vax Mandate for businesses in New York State.
On Friday, December 10, 2021, Governor Kathy Hochul announced that masks will be required in all indoor public places in New York State unless the business has implemented a vaccine requirement. Business owners were given 72 hours to comply, as the mandate went into effect on December 13, 2021. Local health departments are expected to enforce it, and each violation – whether by businesses or individuals – could be subject to a maximum fine of $1,000.
The LPCC rejects the notion that businesses in Chemung County need to comply with this unfunded mandate. Our local business owners are still trying to get back on their feet after being shut down.
Furthermore, the LPCC calls upon the Chemung County Legislature, Chairman Manchester, and County Executive Chris Moss to denounce this mandate and to instruct the Chemung County Health Department and the Chemung County Sheriff’s Office to refuse to enforce it.
States without mask and/or vaccine mandates in place continue to demonstrate low numbers of reported cases. For example, Florida has seen a 7-day rolling average of 9.6 cases of COVID-19 out of every 100,000 people. Similarly, Texas has seen a 7-day rolling average of 19.7 cases of COVID-19 out of every 100,000 people. In contrast, New York State – which undoubtedly has some of the strictest COVID-19 mandates in the country – has seen a 7-day rolling average of 49.6 cases out of every 100,000 people.
Craig Colwell, Vice Chair of the LPCC states, “While we are saddened that so many have fallen ill and died from this virus, government overreach has caused even more destruction within our community. It continues to threaten our local economy, and government mitigation efforts have done little to no good. Why do we continue to mandate the same things that haven’t worked?”
The LPCC realizes that individual business owners may have differing views on the best way to handle the current atmosphere surrounding the pandemic and we encourage them to follow their own consciences. We also urge individuals to remain civil and respect the decisions of private businesses while categorically condemning the use of mandates by the state government in Albany.
