Mask ordinance

Dear editor:

The Hot Springs “City board OKs mask ordinance” was announced on The Sentinel-Record front page July 8. Webster defines an ordinance as “a rule or law enacted by local government.” On July 9, the city explained “the wearing of face masks remains a personal choice.” So, this new ordinance should have been entitled “a weak request based upon political pressure!” The city also passed the responsibility of any mask enforcement on to the business owners who are not “required by the state” to enforce mask wearing in their businesses, and, for them to ask people to leave their store if unmasked. Some very small local stores do require masks. I would bet there are no masks mentioned or seen in the A&P commission tourist ads and we can all see the many cars coming in from the surrounding states that have huge spikes in this pandemic.

Some say it is a personal right not to wear a mask, however, this is a national pandemic that has already killed over 130,000 Americans, so why is a simple mask a violation of your right not to pass a disease on to other people with equal rights? For business owners, there are 100,000 residents in Garland County who buy food, supplies, and lumber from you Year Around; also think about further reducing exposure to your employees.

We can plainly see the quickly emerging danger in almost every state around us and as close as Little Rock. Now, while we can, is the time to make this small change to require masks in public. That action will have big, proven results without any drastic actions! Jim Pumphrey Garland County