A
Annie
Guest
Are you against mandatory seat belt laws?
I think that the two laws are more different than generally thought.Actually, a better case can be made for mandatory masks than for mandatory seatbelts. Seatbelts primarily protect the wearer, but masks primarily protect everyone else from the wearer.
Because driving is a privelege rather than a right, the government can put more restrictions on issues related to driving on public roads, hence seat belt laws fall under a different category than do face masks.
Moreover, a person injured in an accident can affect the other driver’s insurance and insurance rates in general, not to mention the effect on the others involved in the accident.
Those who oppose the use of face masks probably feel that a freedom of theirs has been taken away without a corresponding finding which would allow that to happen. These people would possibly argue that it is like civil forfeiture, and that it can serve as the beginning of a slippery slope.
I myself have never really thought about having a position on either topic*. I wear a mask in stores, etc., but do not freak out if I see someone not wearing a mask.
Some people do; for instance, a friend told me there was a notice on a neighborhood sort of FB page–like thing on which a patron complained that the local store had not forbidden entry to an unmasked couple and the patron/writer hoped others would complain to the store.
*ETA : seatbelts or facemasks. I am heartily against civil forfeiture and cannot believe it has not been ruled unConstitutional by the SC.
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