Denton city council passes mask requirement, following Dallas County model
The city of Denton will require that primary schools, colleges and businesses insist beginning on Friday morning that people inside their buildings wear face coverings to limit the spread of the flaring coronavirus.
The city council passed an ordinance making masks mandatory indoors on a five-to-two vote on Thursday night at an emergency meeting. It was to take effect at 12:01 a.m. Mayor Gerard Hudspeth and Councilman Jesse Davis voted against the ordinance, which closely tracks the language of an order in Dallas County.
Many of the council members who support the ordinance, which also applies a mask requirement at city buildings, suggested that it was necessary to tame a public health crisis and save lives. Hospitals in the region have become jammed with patients as people with the virus’ delta variant have sought treatment. The council members said that government should intervene in grave health matters.
Davis said that the ordinance will not move people who have previously declined to wear a mask to change course.
The measure, he said, was “utterly unenforceable,” an assessment that other council members appeared not to dispute.
“I agree that masks save lives,” Davis said. “I do not agree that a mask [requirement] in the city of Denton will save lives.”
A city legal staff member said that enforcement efforts were unlikely and people who see violations should not call 911.
The Denton Independent School District had considered the face mask matter earlier in the week and its trustees decided against enacting a mandate. The school district will need to decide whether to follow or defy the city ordinance, which itself appears in conflict with an executive order signed by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott prohibiting local governments from insisting that people wear face coverings.
It is not clear what action the Abbott administration will take to respond to the burgeoning list of local Texas government bodies that have moved to spurn its order. The legal consequences were among council members’ considerations on Thursday night, mostly in two sessions outside of public view.
Nine of the 11 Denton residents who spoke either in person or by telephone during the meeting supported the ordinance. Others sent emails and text messages to council members, but a complete tally of opinions was not offered at the meeting.
Micah Carlson, 36, said that her daughters, who are unvaccinated because of their age, should be able to feel safe in public.
“They should not have to cower at Kroger,” she said.
Josh Harless, 38, said that people should decide for themselves whether to wear masks.
“I’m not a doctor. I do not know if this virus is real or not,” he said. “I tested positive for it, as did my wife and children,” Harless said before describing his experience with minor symptoms.
He said he agreed with the sentiment of the person who spoke before him, an ordinance opponent who, in terms she acknowledged were impolite, said she would not heed the ordinance and begin to stretch mask elastic around her ears.
“Good luck trying to make us,” she said.
This story was originally published August 13, 2021 at 5:15 AM.
