Freedom Rally

We did a thing this past week. Something we have never done before. We participated in a rally/protest, call it what you will. And this is why......

 Our School district began last Thursday. Per David Blodgett (Director Southwest Utah Public Health Department) it was up to the individual of what kind of face shield/mask they wanted to wear. Face mask, bandana, face shield, etc.  Although I think this whole Covid-19 thing has been hyped up for political reasons our political leaders and church leaders have asked us to wear a face covering when social distancing isn't possible. Even though we still have a 98% chance survival rate, we will obey and wear a face covering. Everyone had a really good first 2 days back to school. And then Friday late afternoon after everyone had gone home for the weekend our Governor announced face shields could be worn to school but masks themselves were mandated.  Meaning you would still have to wear a mask under the shield. What's the point of wearing the shield then? Why is he doing this? The parents, the teachers, the principals were very upset. Our Governor has been saying for months that he wouldn't mandate masks and yet he just did for our kids. Our Governor last week AGAIN said face coverings would be left up to each school district and their local health department although it was his opinion it should be an actual mask. The Governor also said that when our numbers dropped to under 400 positive daily cases he would lift some of his mandates. This week we have been under 300 every single day. Has he lifted anything? Nope just more restrictions. 2 months ago our numbers were over 800.   Our school district sent out an email saying they would discuss this new mandate with our local health dept and get back to parents. I wasn't surprised when they came back this week saying they were going to follow the mandate. This really doesn't effect my younger kids. When we go to stores and church we already wear our masks. But this does effect Hunter and Maddie. 

What really has me upset is that our STATE school board superintendent created his own school board (didn't go through the elected state school board) ummm....illegal. This new board along with the state health department and our Governor created a new set of rules for all of us parents to play by.  These are just some of the new "rules". The elected school board members were NOT privy to this info. They weren't invited to their meetings. They had no idea this group had been formed. They found out with the rest of us. Our Governor and state school board superintendent has gone to far. They have both OVER REACHED their power. 

Our Governor is threatening/bullying our kids. A misdemeanor for ANY kid that refuses to wear a mask? For reals? Who the heck does our governor think he is? I have spoken to an attorney and 2 law enforcement officers about this. All 3 told me this will NOT happen. It would never stand up in court. But you may have to get to court to make it go away. At our rally on Friday it was good to hear the St. George PD announced they would not pursue this. Why? Because wearing a mask at school is NOT law. The Governor does NOT have the power to make it a law and thus make a punishment if this non law is broken. 

It is also AGAINST the law to deny any child a public education. If they don't want to wear a mask they can do distant learning from home. But that's not what this new rule says. If my child refuses to wear a mask then the school district has the right to refuse my child an education, in person or virtual. Again this would NOT stand up in court. 

I have heard many times that doctors are being told NOT to write out an exemption note for any child saying that they shouldn't/couldn't wear a mask. It wasn't put in this little synopsis I saved from the internet. I read the letter but it's to long to share here but it does state that the Utah Health Department has told doctors not to give exemption notes. These new rules also say what will happen for those kids who already have a doctors note that has been granted an exemption to wearing any face coverings. That note is to be sent to the "other" school board and they will look at them individually and decided which notes to uphold. So now this group of people know more than our doctors? This also breaks HIPPA rules. It is against the law to share the medical records with this new board of people. 

The Governor also stated a "cap" will be put on homeschooling numbers that run through the school district in this letter. Can he do that? He just did! There are 2 programs that I know of right now, Harmony and MyTech High that will reimburse homeschooling families (from property taxes). I was going to homeschool regardless. When I learned I could get reimbursed, I thought why not? Words getting out our Governor has capped Harmony. There are many, many families that were accepted into their program a month ago, they have acceptance letters but THIS week have received emails saying, "Sorry, we are at a max and even though we said you were accepted you really aren't." This has never happened before!  What do these families do now? Continue on knowing they aren't getting reimbursed or put their kids back in public school. It's almost as if the Governor is throwing a temper tantrum. Many school districts declared masks up front because of the Governor. Many people are anti-masks! So parents pulled their kids out of the school district and joined the homeschool community but in a way they could get some money back. Governor didn't like that so he made his next move, took some of their funding!  

And last but not least that I will mention is that masks are mandated until a vaccine is available.  If our government is willing to push this hard about masks how much harder will they push for the vaccine? In the letter he didn't say vaccines would be mandated but reading between the lines you know its coming.

Covid had been around for centuries, it's what we usually call a common virus. Not typically treated by an antibiotic. It's got to run it's course. Scientists have tried but have been unsuccessful in creating a medicine or vaccine in treating a covid strain. Yet we are being told by January of 2021 or when school starts next year in 2021 we will have a vaccine for Covid-19. Ummm scientists have failed for how many years to make a vaccine for any covid strain? But now you want me to believe that scientists will have a vaccine for Covid 19 in 18 months of discovering this new virus? I think not! Typhoid fever was discoverd in 1880, first vaccine was 1909. How about the flu shot? They began researching in the 1930's. In 1945 it became available to the public. But it was quickly discovered that the strain changes every year so some years the shot is better than others. Ummm pretty sure covid-19 will be similar in changing strains. Or that's what they say. How about the chicken pox vaccine? Scientists began in the 1950's. It wasn't licensed until 1995. I understand that scientifically we are farther ahead than we were even just 5 years ago. Back in March we had a special world wide fast. A part of that fast people were hoping for a vaccine. Back in March we thought this Covid 19 was extremely deadly. A few month's later we know it's not. Is it contagious? Yep! But not super deadly, remember we have a 98% chance of survival. We'll see how long it takes for a vaccine to be released. With Heavenly Father's help I'm sure it won't take years and years to make. But Governor's new rules for public school kids state masks will be mandated until a vaccine is available. So masks will be mandated in schools for how many years? 1,3,5? 

This is why we protested Friday. NOT just because masks were mandated at school but because of all the over reach our Governor has done in these past few weeks. He himself has broken the law. We the people did not give him the power he feels he has to do what he has done. He has changed his mind on mandates not based on scientific proof but because of his own personal feelings. More than 50% of our legislature did not want to re-instate a "state of emergency".  But he did it anyways. Why? For money! So that it is easier to receive federal funding. The state of emergency from Covid has passed. We are no longer in an emergency state. And that is what most of our legislature has said. But he did it anyways. He has over stepped his reach! And that is what we protested about.