Governor Brown has indicated that Oregon businesses may continue to ask all employees and customers to wear masks, if they’d rather not ask for papers
by Dorothy Cummings McLean
SALEM, Oregon, May 20, 2021 (LifeSiteNews) — Willing to share your private medical information with the butcher, the baker, and the ushers at your church?
According to the New York Times, the state of Oregon has ordered “businesses, workplaces and houses of worship” to make sure anyone who comes indoors without wearing a mask has been vaccinated. Maskless people who wish to enter will have to show a “proof of vaccination” card or a photo of such a card.
The New York Times says that the mandate is “one of the first of its kind in the country,” and that it has “raised concerns” that “the procedure of verifying vaccinations could be too cumbersome for workers.”
The Gray Lady neglected to mention that many Americans will object to saying “Your papers, please” in the Land of the Free, not because it is “too cumbersome,” but because they will find asking their neighbors about their private medical information shameful. The paper also neglected to mention that many Americans will balk at sharing their private medical information with their church or grocery store.
Some states that have loosened their mask mandates have been relying on an “honor system,” apparently “trusting” that those who dare to show their faces indoors have been vaccinated. Former Planned Parenthood CEO Dr. Leana Wen gave the new “papers, please” mandate her approval in a recent tweet.
“Oregon has it right–honor system can’t be trusted,” Wen tweeted to Oregon’s Governor Kate Brown, and quoted the New York Times article:
…[B]usinesses that do not want to implement vaccine verification can keep current health & safety measures in place, which includes masks & physical distancing for all individuals.
The New York Times stressed the idea that it could be “dangerous” for employees to ask people for their proof of vaccination, and it cited the concerns of Oregon Business and Industry’s Nathaniel Brown that the state was demanding too much from “frontline workers.”
“We have serious concerns about the practicality of requiring business owners and workers to be the enforcer,” Brown said.
“We are hearing from retailers and small businesses who are concerned about putting their frontline workers in a potentially untenable position when dealing with customers.”
For her part, Governor Brown has indicated that Oregon businesses may continue to ask all employees and customers to wear masks, if they’d rather not ask for papers.
“Some businesses may prefer to simply continue operating under the current guidance for now rather than worrying about vaccination status, and that’s fine,” Brown said last week.
