Post by Nadica (She/Her) on Jun 26, 2024 22:00:16 GMT
'Scared to put on my mask': Cancer patient says she was intentionally coughed on in spat over mask - Published June 13, 2024
A Cary woman said she was accosted — and coughed on — for wearing a face mask for health reasons Wednesday, an incident that underscores political tensions following a proposed adjustment to the state’s mask laws.
Shari Stuart says she's undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer and has a weak immune system due to the medication she takes. On Wednesday, she said she parked her car at a Cary oil-change service station and slipped on a mask before walking into the shop.
As she walked in, she said, she was confronted by a man who shouted expletives and called her a liberal for wearing the mask. The man identified himself as a conservative, she said, and he falsely told her that wearing a mask in public was illegal.
According to Stuart, she told the man that it was dangerous for her to go into public without a mask because of her diagnosis. It’s not a political statement, she said, and she says she showed the man a medical card describing her condition.
He then proceeded to approach her and feigned coughing on her repeatedly before telling her that he hopes the cancer kills her, she said. Stuart said she called Cary police but ultimately didn’t file a complaint.
Cary police confirmed the call. Witnesses at the oil-change store also corroborated Stuart’s account.
The incident follows outcry among disability rights advocates and Democrats over a GOP effort to restrict the use of face masks in North Carolina.
The Republican-led state House passed a bill Tuesday that would adjust exceptions to the state law governing masks. In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, lawmakers made an exception to the state mask law that allowed people to wear masks in public to protect people from catching or spreading an illness.
The bill that passed in the House this week would narrow the law to allow masks only to prevent the spread of contagious disease. The chamber agreed to a compromise bill after rejecting the Republican-led Senate’s efforts to ban masks for any health reason. The chamber’s leaders said some exceptions should be made for health reasons. And the state Department of Health and Human Services warned that harassment over masks could harm public health if a full ban were approved.
To become law, the bill would need to be approved by Gov. Roy Cooper, or it would have to sit 10 days without his signature to become law. Cooper, a Democrat, is expected to veto the bill. However, Republicans — who hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the legislature — could override a veto by Cooper.
Nevertheless, wearing a mask for health reasons is not a crime.
"If that bill makes it all the way across the finish line, the law will change in some respects," Senate leader Phil Berger said Wednesday. “But the law today is the same as it was yesterday, same as last week, same as last year."
Stuart said she expected some compassion — not a political debate — when she explained her reasoning to the man at the service center.
“This is what is happening to the sick over the mask controversy," she said. "I was in tears, but shook it off."
Republicans sought to change the law, saying protesters have abused mask rules to hide their identities at protests. They said it would make it easier for police to identify criminals.
"I was going in for an oil change," Stuart said. "I obviously wasn’t going in to rob the store."
When made aware of Stuart’s allegations, House Speaker Tim Moore said no one should be harassed for wearing a mask if they chose to for health reasons.
“If somebody immunocompromised like that is being harassed, that’s wrong," he told reporters Wednesday. "That’s not appropriate at all. That’s why the bill we passed was written in such a way that it recognizes there are individuals who may want to wear a mask for health reasons, and they can do so."
But Stuart isn’t so sure it’s that simple.
"If I go out now, I’m going to be scared to put on my mask because I don’t want to be confronted like that," she said.
A Cary woman said she was accosted — and coughed on — for wearing a face mask for health reasons Wednesday, an incident that underscores political tensions following a proposed adjustment to the state’s mask laws.
Shari Stuart says she's undergoing treatment for stage 4 cancer and has a weak immune system due to the medication she takes. On Wednesday, she said she parked her car at a Cary oil-change service station and slipped on a mask before walking into the shop.
As she walked in, she said, she was confronted by a man who shouted expletives and called her a liberal for wearing the mask. The man identified himself as a conservative, she said, and he falsely told her that wearing a mask in public was illegal.
According to Stuart, she told the man that it was dangerous for her to go into public without a mask because of her diagnosis. It’s not a political statement, she said, and she says she showed the man a medical card describing her condition.
He then proceeded to approach her and feigned coughing on her repeatedly before telling her that he hopes the cancer kills her, she said. Stuart said she called Cary police but ultimately didn’t file a complaint.
Cary police confirmed the call. Witnesses at the oil-change store also corroborated Stuart’s account.
The incident follows outcry among disability rights advocates and Democrats over a GOP effort to restrict the use of face masks in North Carolina.
The Republican-led state House passed a bill Tuesday that would adjust exceptions to the state law governing masks. In the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic, lawmakers made an exception to the state mask law that allowed people to wear masks in public to protect people from catching or spreading an illness.
The bill that passed in the House this week would narrow the law to allow masks only to prevent the spread of contagious disease. The chamber agreed to a compromise bill after rejecting the Republican-led Senate’s efforts to ban masks for any health reason. The chamber’s leaders said some exceptions should be made for health reasons. And the state Department of Health and Human Services warned that harassment over masks could harm public health if a full ban were approved.
To become law, the bill would need to be approved by Gov. Roy Cooper, or it would have to sit 10 days without his signature to become law. Cooper, a Democrat, is expected to veto the bill. However, Republicans — who hold veto-proof majorities in both chambers of the legislature — could override a veto by Cooper.
Nevertheless, wearing a mask for health reasons is not a crime.
"If that bill makes it all the way across the finish line, the law will change in some respects," Senate leader Phil Berger said Wednesday. “But the law today is the same as it was yesterday, same as last week, same as last year."
Stuart said she expected some compassion — not a political debate — when she explained her reasoning to the man at the service center.
“This is what is happening to the sick over the mask controversy," she said. "I was in tears, but shook it off."
Republicans sought to change the law, saying protesters have abused mask rules to hide their identities at protests. They said it would make it easier for police to identify criminals.
"I was going in for an oil change," Stuart said. "I obviously wasn’t going in to rob the store."
When made aware of Stuart’s allegations, House Speaker Tim Moore said no one should be harassed for wearing a mask if they chose to for health reasons.
“If somebody immunocompromised like that is being harassed, that’s wrong," he told reporters Wednesday. "That’s not appropriate at all. That’s why the bill we passed was written in such a way that it recognizes there are individuals who may want to wear a mask for health reasons, and they can do so."
But Stuart isn’t so sure it’s that simple.
"If I go out now, I’m going to be scared to put on my mask because I don’t want to be confronted like that," she said.