Mask bylaws restrict rights and freedoms for good reason

By Lethbridge Herald on January 7, 2022.

Editor: 

We all claim rights and freedoms (R&F) but almost every one of us also wants safety and security. And laws may limit some of our R&F while trying to offer the public the desired safety and security asked for and demanded.

Every country is governed by laws. Some laws by limiting some R&F are designed to keep people safe from themselves. Some laws are designed to keep people safe from others. And some laws are designed to keep people safe both from themselves and from others.

One law which is mainly designed to keep persons safe from themselves and their own actions is the law which requires all motorcycle riders to wear a qualified helmet.  There are good reasons why the government is interested in interfering in a person’s R&F to their own personal choice.  

And there are numerous laws mainly designed to keep people safe from others such as all the laws regarding theft and stealing in its many guises. A law which says that I can’t go into your business and take something without paying for it isn’t protecting me, it’s protecting you, even though it’s suppressing my freedom to do as I wish.

And there are laws which are supposed to protect both.  One of those laws is the mask bylaw which states that masks covering both the nose and the mouth must be worn inside public facilities unless the person is in the process of eating or drinking. The wearing of masks although infringing on a person’s R&F has been shown to protect somewhat (depending upon the mask type) the wearer from the germs and viruses of others. However, the mask has also been shown to protect others from many germs or viruses the wearer possesses. When two persons are both wearing masks they are protecting not just themselves but the other person as well. 

The mask bylaw may restrict or limit individual R&F but for good reason. And these laws need to be enforced, both by businesses and by authorities. Neither is currently doing a good job.

Ken Moore

Stirling