RESIDENTS WIN! Cape Coral residents win their battle, defeating the mask-mandate mob, for now

Cape Coral residents burst into rounds of applause during public comment, defying the Southwest Florida mask-mandate mob and their push for a mandatory mask ordinance on the agenda for yesterdays' city council special meeting.

You won't read this level of reporting in the Snooze section of local Southwest Florida Snooze outlets.

A round of applause to shouts of "We Are Winning!" exploded in chambers as one resident told council to read the disclaimer on the side of a standard face mask box ---this product is an ear loop mask, this product is not a respirator and will not provide any protection from COVID-19 or any other viruses or contaminates." 

Another Cape resident told council "you want to say this is all about public safety--let's examine what the government has considered SAFE for us. 

So far the idea of safety (in the view of the government) has been to lock us away, scare us to death , shutter all non-essential businesses, keep us from family, friends & loved ones, highly suggest we subject ourselves to obstruct our breathing, keep us from sunshine and fresh air, close our parks & beaches, close schools, divide us on race, class, culture, ideas and tell us the ONLY way back to normal is to comply with measures that their experts change on a near daily basis..."

One local Southwest Florida news station refused to link to a memo issued to Mayor Coviello and council members by Unified Command, essentially hiding it from their readership; County Examiner has it here.

The coalition, comprised of the city manager, chief of police, fire chief and public works director signed onto a memo strongly recommending the use of face coverings per CDC guidelines rather than imposing civil penalties and/or criminal charges for individual violators.

The memo further explained any ordinance mandating masks would place law enforcement in the untenable situation of escalated distrust in the police at a time when law and order must prevail.

From the memo:

"The enforcement of the mandate would potentially place our Police Department, as well as Code Compliance, in precarious situations at a time when our nation's expectations of law enforcement are being challenged. These potentially adverse encounters could escalate into arrest situations and reflect negatively on our positive relationship with our community."

One Southwest Florida news outlet couldn't even be bothered to report the Cape Coral city council vote count. When the official meeting minutes are posted, County Examiner will report the vote details.

UPDATED: Vote count - motion to approve failed 5-3

Welsh: No
Williams: No
Cosden: No
Gunter: No
Stout: No

Coviello: Yes
Nelson: Yes
Carioscia: Yes