Lawmakers defied mask orders at session kick-off in Capitol [View all]

House Republicans speak in a circle without masks on on the floor of the House chamber. Clockwise they are: Reps. Bill Fortner (Gillette), Jeremy Haroldson (Wheatland), Chuck Gray (Casper), John Bear (Gillette), Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) and Pepper Ottman (R-Riverton). (Mike Vanata/WyoFile)


The majority of state lawmakers who attended the kickoff of the 66th Wyoming Legislature in person Tuesday defied public health orders by not wearing face coverings.

Gov. Mark Gordon and Public Health Officer Dr. Alexia Harrist issued health orders Dec. 7 that require Wyoming residents to wear face coverings in indoor public settings. Gordon signed the mask mandate after months of appealing instead to residents’ personal responsibility failed to slow COVID-19 case counts, hospitalizations and deaths. The order, extended on Jan. 9, applies to state government buildings including the Capitol.

The large majority of lawmakers on the House floor, and many in the Senate, did not wear masks while gathering Jan. 12 to begin the 2021 general session. Public health orders were likewise not enforced among members of the public in attendance, many of whom circulated in the galleries and hallways of the Capitol maskless.

The open disregard for state law came after one former and several current lawmakers — along with hundreds of protesters — accused Gordon and Harrist of being “tyrants” for issuing such health orders, though they have yet to be rigorously enforced.

Read more: https://www.wyofile.com/lawmakers-defied-mask-orders-at-session-kick-off-in-capitol/