Unless there is a drastic change of heart from a majority of the commissioners, there will be no countywide mask mandate in Whitfield County.
More than 40 people showed up to Monday night’s work session, most of them wearing red as a statement to show their support for having no mask mandate.
Billy Joe Wilson Jr. was one of the outspoken Whitfield County residents who was against a mask mandate. Wilson said issuing such a mandate is something a tyrannical government would do.
“There’s a lot of things I disagree with,” Wilson said. “There are a lot of ideas that I think are good. But I don’t believe in forcing my opinion or my righteousness as a law on other people.”
Whitfield County Chair Lynn Laughter wanted to discuss the possibility of a mask mandate with the commission in a public setting. The commission does not vote during work sessions. The four other commissioners – Barry Robbins, Harold Brooker, Greg Jones and Roger Crossen – all said Monday they would not support a mask mandate. By a show of hands, only two people at Monday’s crowded meeting said they would support such a mandate.