Private property, I guess. The way Texas gets around this is the mask mandates as far as I’ve heard are unenforceable, but businesses can ask you to leave if you’re not wearing a mask and if you refuse they can report you for trespassing.
Initially Abbott in his EO forbade mask mandates but then some asshole judge in San Antonio ruled that businesses had to have mask policies or they would lose their license from the county. Abbott, being the turd he is, gave in as he always does when a metro judge tells him to.
He also let Hidalgo enforce mandates on businesses in Houston, too. He stinks. As someone higher up in the thread said, Texas in general stinks way more than you would think in the mask mandate department. I thankfully passed through some small towns while traveling for Thanksgiving where people didn't give a damn about masks, and it was really refreshing to see, but I have been shocked by just how many people have chugged the Kool-Aid in this supposedly conservative state.
I have my theories as to why this is. Texas has a history of leaning towards medical tyranny. If you recall, there was a hullabaloo a few years back about legislating mandatory vaccination in Texas, which thankfully didn't come to fruition. Some of the best hospitals in the USA are located in Texas - which is a blessing and a curse, because the medical/pharmaceutical industry is extremely strong here. I am a crunchy hippy type when it comes to health, so I was shocked when I moved to Houston and found there were almost no midwives and not a single herbalist (who wasn't a Chinese medicine practitioner - and I am not going near that) to be found.
All that to say: the medical industry has Texas in a stranglehold.
Abbott initially was dead set against shutdowns of businesses and schools and said so back around the end of February.
A Dallas judge ordered Dallas County to shut down all non essential businesses and pressed Abbot on a statewide shutdown in early March.
Abbott declined to countermand the Dallas County order and implemented the same shutdown order state wide in March via Emergency Power EO, but stipulated that no county had authority to enforce the state shutdown order separately, or something like that.
Then in May Abbott started ordering a phased re-opening and the Harris county judge started handing down orders that in Houston businesses couldn't reopen and that you would be fined by the county for not wearing masks in public.
Abbott then made an EO saying the counties had no authority to enforce a mask mandate and ordered more businesses could open.
In response, Travis, Dallas, Harris and Bexar county judges passed identical simultaneous orders that businesses that didn't enforce masks could be shut down by the county, which took the "enforcement of individuals" out of the equation.
Abbott then bent over his wheelchair, took off his diaper and spread his cheeks for the metro judges and passed a statewide mask mandate.
In Texas, "county judge" is a misleading term of art; the equivalent of a county commission chairman in most other states. The "county judge" doesn't wear a robe, bang a gavel, or have to be a lawyer. The Harris County (Houston) Judge is a 20-something Mexicana who became a citizen in 2013, upset the Democrat incumbent in a primary in 2018, and thus was authorized to enact mask mandates mere months later. It's bullshit.
In Texas, county judges have authority like county level executives. They can be overruled by the Governor or the state legislature. It's fucked how the judges in Texas have been legislating from the bench.
But then again Abbott has refused to convene the legislature in special session, so we have to wait for the next session, which one would HOPE would contain some severe rebukes of the Governor's last 9 months of blatant power grabs, but considering this is Texas and the GOP here is completely cucked, I have zero hope that this will happen in the next regular session starting in January.
If Abbott had testicles, he would have convened the legislature in special session to deal with the flood of judges legislating from the bench in 2020, but he refused, because he prefers his absolute power, and the Texas Supreme Court is likewise cucked and will not check him on any of it.
It is private property... but I say, if they want to have a nonsensical rule, make them expend effort enforce it. Decline to wear it. Make them ask you to leave. If you're asked to leave, do so, but make yourself heard. (By being reasoned, not a loud jackass.)
Most stores with these "mandates" aren't even enforcing them because it's too much trouble. A sign on the door isn't magic and doesn't mean shit. If even 10% of customers flatly refused, the effect would be huge.
I've had multiple different experiences. I have forgotten my mask (legitimately) because I've been living 45+ years not wearing a mask aside from goddam halloween, so from time to time I just forget... and I walk into an establishment, most of the time this happens nobody says a goddam word to me.
One time a little twerp at a fast food place gave me the "Sir... Sir..." and I belittled him pretty badly with sarcasm, but that was the end of it.
Mind you, most of the time I comply with a property owner's request - if I don't like it I don't have to enter. Just like the 30.06 sign - if I don't want to enter an establishment unarmed, I don't have to. Just a handful of times I just plain forgot. But you know this is Texas and most people here, even in suburbs of commie towns, just don't really care enough to get in your face.
Businesses that are open to the public are NOT plain private property - they are public spaces. That is why they have to comply with ADA and a whole host of other rules, while your home -true private property- doesn't.
In public spaces, you cannot be barred from free movement unless you are violating an actual law, and even then if the law is unconstitutional you would have your day in court to potentially cause the law to be struck down (that road is a little painful because you have to go through detainment etc to get there). "Mandates" are not laws. "Guidelines" are not laws.
NOTE: There are actual anti-mask laws in the South (because KKK) which administrations have simply 'agreed to' not enforce - but if I were a black person in an ex-confederate state confronted with threatening people in masks, I would invoke those laws in a NY second.
Private property, I guess. The way Texas gets around this is the mask mandates as far as I’ve heard are unenforceable, but businesses can ask you to leave if you’re not wearing a mask and if you refuse they can report you for trespassing.
Initially Abbott in his EO forbade mask mandates but then some asshole judge in San Antonio ruled that businesses had to have mask policies or they would lose their license from the county. Abbott, being the turd he is, gave in as he always does when a metro judge tells him to.
He also let Hidalgo enforce mandates on businesses in Houston, too. He stinks. As someone higher up in the thread said, Texas in general stinks way more than you would think in the mask mandate department. I thankfully passed through some small towns while traveling for Thanksgiving where people didn't give a damn about masks, and it was really refreshing to see, but I have been shocked by just how many people have chugged the Kool-Aid in this supposedly conservative state.
I have my theories as to why this is. Texas has a history of leaning towards medical tyranny. If you recall, there was a hullabaloo a few years back about legislating mandatory vaccination in Texas, which thankfully didn't come to fruition. Some of the best hospitals in the USA are located in Texas - which is a blessing and a curse, because the medical/pharmaceutical industry is extremely strong here. I am a crunchy hippy type when it comes to health, so I was shocked when I moved to Houston and found there were almost no midwives and not a single herbalist (who wasn't a Chinese medicine practitioner - and I am not going near that) to be found.
All that to say: the medical industry has Texas in a stranglehold.
As I recall the history went something like this:
Abbott initially was dead set against shutdowns of businesses and schools and said so back around the end of February.
A Dallas judge ordered Dallas County to shut down all non essential businesses and pressed Abbot on a statewide shutdown in early March.
Abbott declined to countermand the Dallas County order and implemented the same shutdown order state wide in March via Emergency Power EO, but stipulated that no county had authority to enforce the state shutdown order separately, or something like that.
Then in May Abbott started ordering a phased re-opening and the Harris county judge started handing down orders that in Houston businesses couldn't reopen and that you would be fined by the county for not wearing masks in public.
Abbott then made an EO saying the counties had no authority to enforce a mask mandate and ordered more businesses could open.
In response, Travis, Dallas, Harris and Bexar county judges passed identical simultaneous orders that businesses that didn't enforce masks could be shut down by the county, which took the "enforcement of individuals" out of the equation.
Abbott then bent over his wheelchair, took off his diaper and spread his cheeks for the metro judges and passed a statewide mask mandate.
Here we are.
Yeah that crippled faggot pisses me off. He can fucking burn in hell. Super nice guy, huge cuckold.
It's a good thing we elected him to the office of Nice Guy of Texas though.
How the fuck does a judge have the power to mandate mask policies?
In Texas, "county judge" is a misleading term of art; the equivalent of a county commission chairman in most other states. The "county judge" doesn't wear a robe, bang a gavel, or have to be a lawyer. The Harris County (Houston) Judge is a 20-something Mexicana who became a citizen in 2013, upset the Democrat incumbent in a primary in 2018, and thus was authorized to enact mask mandates mere months later. It's bullshit.
In Texas, county judges have authority like county level executives. They can be overruled by the Governor or the state legislature. It's fucked how the judges in Texas have been legislating from the bench.
But then again Abbott has refused to convene the legislature in special session, so we have to wait for the next session, which one would HOPE would contain some severe rebukes of the Governor's last 9 months of blatant power grabs, but considering this is Texas and the GOP here is completely cucked, I have zero hope that this will happen in the next regular session starting in January.
If Abbott had testicles, he would have convened the legislature in special session to deal with the flood of judges legislating from the bench in 2020, but he refused, because he prefers his absolute power, and the Texas Supreme Court is likewise cucked and will not check him on any of it.
It is private property... but I say, if they want to have a nonsensical rule, make them expend effort enforce it. Decline to wear it. Make them ask you to leave. If you're asked to leave, do so, but make yourself heard. (By being reasoned, not a loud jackass.)
Most stores with these "mandates" aren't even enforcing them because it's too much trouble. A sign on the door isn't magic and doesn't mean shit. If even 10% of customers flatly refused, the effect would be huge.
I've had multiple different experiences. I have forgotten my mask (legitimately) because I've been living 45+ years not wearing a mask aside from goddam halloween, so from time to time I just forget... and I walk into an establishment, most of the time this happens nobody says a goddam word to me.
One time a little twerp at a fast food place gave me the "Sir... Sir..." and I belittled him pretty badly with sarcasm, but that was the end of it.
Mind you, most of the time I comply with a property owner's request - if I don't like it I don't have to enter. Just like the 30.06 sign - if I don't want to enter an establishment unarmed, I don't have to. Just a handful of times I just plain forgot. But you know this is Texas and most people here, even in suburbs of commie towns, just don't really care enough to get in your face.
Businesses that are open to the public are NOT plain private property - they are public spaces. That is why they have to comply with ADA and a whole host of other rules, while your home -true private property- doesn't.
In public spaces, you cannot be barred from free movement unless you are violating an actual law, and even then if the law is unconstitutional you would have your day in court to potentially cause the law to be struck down (that road is a little painful because you have to go through detainment etc to get there). "Mandates" are not laws. "Guidelines" are not laws.
NOTE: There are actual anti-mask laws in the South (because KKK) which administrations have simply 'agreed to' not enforce - but if I were a black person in an ex-confederate state confronted with threatening people in masks, I would invoke those laws in a NY second.