2 judges rule against Tenn. Gov. Lee’s ban on mask mandates

September 26, 2021 carleyshaffer1 US 0

FILE - Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the Tennessee Higher Education Commission session of the state budget hearings on Nov. 10, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. The health department in Tennessee's most populous county reinstituted a face mask requirement Wednesday, Aug. 18, 2021, for indoor public places such as restaurants, bars and other businesses as a surge in COVID-19 cases strains hospital resources and causes concern in schools. The announcement comes two days after Lee issued an order allowing parents of K-12 students to opt out of mask requirements issued for schools. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

Gov. Bill Lee speaks during the Tennessee Higher Education Commission session of the state budget hearings on Nov. 10, 2020, in Nashville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey, File)

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UPDATED 12:11 PM PT – Sunday, September 26, 2021

Two federal judges ruled against Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee’s (R) ban on mask mandates. In separate rulings, U.S. District Judge J. Ronnie Greer and Judge Waverly Crenshaw ruled against the governor’s executive order on Friday. This, barring parents from opting out of their children’s schools’ mask mandates.

Judge Greer also instructed school districts to implement a mask mandate to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act. To date, a total of three judges have now ruled against Gov. Lee’s injunction.

To be clear: the vaccine is the best tool we have to combat the pandemic but heavy-handed mandates are the wrong approach.

— Gov. Bill Lee (@GovBillLee) September 9, 2021

In response to the latest rulings, a spokesperson for Lee said that the governor “believes parents are best equipped to make decisions regarding their children’s health and well-being.”