UNITED STATES—On Wednesday, July 15, Alabama’s Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth issued a statement in response to Governor Kay Ivey’s statewide mandatory mask mandate starting Thursday, July 16. Ivey’s health order requires all state residents and those visiting the state of Alabama to wear masks when in public until July 31.

“Wearing a face mask and maintaining social distancing are among the best ways to slow the spread of COVID-19, and I have tried to set a public example in those regards. Issuing a statewide face mask mandate, however, is an overstep that infringes upon the property rights of business owners and the ability of individuals to make their own health decisions,” said Ainsworth.

In a virtual meeting on Saturday, July 18, with the Madison County Republican Party Men’s Club mgop.org/men/, Ainsworth reiterated his disdain for the statewide mandate and expressed that they had a good plan in place before.

“… It was local control, which I am always for. I believe people at the local level know best and can make the best decisions about how to impact their community. We had a system in place that listed each county green, yellow, orange or red, depending on how the cases were doing so local leaders could make decisions about not only our community but the school systems could decide what to do. I was on record before, and I’m not going to support a mandate for masks statewide. I think it is the wrong policy. I think that when you do that, it is a slippery slope. And the thing I think I want everybody on this call to understand is once we go down this road of mandating masks, the next thing they’re going to try to mandate, and you’re already seeing it, is vaccines,” said Ainsworth. “I will also fight harder than I have ever fought if Dr [Scott] Harris or the Governor want to close down any business. That is not the right action.”

“In addition,” Ainsworth stated, “It imposes a one-size-fits-all, big-government requirement on counties that currently have low to moderate infection rates and little need for such a mandate. Masks should be worn to combat further outbreaks, and while I admire Gov. Ivey’s leadership and her on-going efforts, I also believe a statewide order is a wrong way to go about encouraging their use.”

Ainsworth tweeted, “Wearing a mask at an outdoor baseball game or and the beach because there are more than 10 people around is not acceptable.”