Tennessee Senator Proposes Protection From Medical-Device Discrimination As Fauci Recommends Doubling Masks

Published January 28, 2021

As it stands across the state, the majority of private businesses or public establishments you walk into require wearing a face covering whether that be a mask, shield, or something similar. 

It has become common over various social media sites to record and attempt to humiliate individuals who may choose not to for whatever reason in the name of “social justice.”

Most of us have had little choice in the matter through various counties. Local law enforcement have made clear that they never intended to act on criminalizing such a thing, but many individual proprietors have taken the responsibility upon themselves to enforce a non-existent mandate.

Governor Lee has stood firm in not issuing a statewide mask mandate, though he says he encourages every Tennessean to wear one when they’re in public, no legislation presently orders it. 

Despite this, masks have become part of our daily lives and are still required almost everywhere. Whether we’re going to the bank, a restaurant, or even just walking around downtown, leaving your face uncovered can leave you vilified. 

While public opinion may be more difficult to overcome in some counties than others, legislation has begun to attempt and relieve the people in our state of this burden.

A new bill proposed by District 28 Tennessee State Senator Joey Hensley (R) wouldn’t let proprietors in Tennessee deny goods or services to anyone simply because  they’re not wearing a mask.

The legislation states “Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, it is a discriminatory practice for a person to deny an individual the full and equal enjoyment of the goods, services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and accommodations of a place of public accommodation, resort, or amusement on the grounds of race, creed, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, the wearing or use of a medical device, or whether an individual has received medical treatment.”

The bill is essentially confirming that it is a discriminatory practice to deny an individual the full and equal enjoyment of goods and services, etc. because of a medical device. The law goes on to officially include face masks and face shields as medical devices to be covered under this protection. 

Sen. Hensley says some of his constituents felt like their personal liberties were being encroached upon by being required to wear a mask. Businesses don’t have the right to discriminate against people, and this state law would supersede any local ordinances or rules.

It would prevent local governments and similar entities from passing laws or orders that require medical devices to be used in order to receive service. 

This includes “a local governmental entity, including a city, town, municipality, metropolitan government, county, utility district, school district, public building authority, housing authority, emergency communications district, county board of health, and development district created and existing pursuant to the laws of this state.”

This bold announcement comes on the tail of a “mutated strain” of the virus being discovered in the state as we previously covered. 

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, now claims that we should be wearing an extra mask because, “if you have a physical covering with one layer, you put another layer on, it just makes common sense that it likely would be more effective.”

Sense and science seem to be at odds these days. Stay tuned for updates on this unprecedented legislation.