While many Georgia mayors and city officials voiced indignation Thursday over Governor Brian Kemp’s prohibiting cities and counties from enacting face mask-related laws, the historically (i.e. recent history) liberal Decatur has thus far remained silent.
Mayor Patti Garrett told the AJC Thursday afternoon that the city will issue a formal statement sometime on Friday.
“I’m surprised [by the Governor’s prohibition],” Garrett said. “For us this isn’t about politics it’s about health, but for now that’s all I’m going to say.”
On Wednesday Kemp banned cities and counties from passing laws requiring face masks, and even went so far to say local governments couldn’t order masks on their own property.
While Decatur remains silent for now, social media is anything but. A city resident named Kelsey Barry posted on a Nextdoor website that she spoke with “someone [in the Governor’s office] who was so polite and agreed that perhaps with enough people calling, maybe the governor [will] resend his order.”
A small sampling of local businesses Thursday indicate they’ll keep mask-wearing signage posted until hearing otherwise from the city.
Decatur passed its ordinance requiring the mandatory wearing of face masks, particularly within indoor spaces, last week, with it going into effect July 11.
The crux of Decatur’s law reads: “All persons entering an establishment in the City of Decatur shall wear a facial covering or mask while inside such establishment. This requirement to wear a facial covering does not apply to religious establishments; however, the use of facial coverings is highly recommended during religious activity.”
City Attorney Bryan Downs told the AJC last week he didn’t believe Decatur’s ordinance conflicted with Kemp’s original June 29 statewide executive order that “strongly encourages” but doesn’t mandate face coverings. Neither, he added, does it conflict with statewide intentions.
He cited Kemp’s Wear a Mask Tour,” where he flew to seven Georgia cities to publicly emphasize facial coverings. Downs also pointed out the state’s Supreme Court required court employees and the public to wear masks, that the General Assembly required mask wearing along with the Georgia Board of Regents.
“We may not quite agree on the precise language,” Downs told the AJC, “but in the end we all want people wearing masks at appropriate times.”
Downs, who is likely crafting the city’s response to the Kemp ban, was unavailable for comment Thursday.
