Once upon a time, not long ago, people used to smoke cigarettes everywhere. And when I say everywhere I mean exactly that. People would light up in the theater, the mall, the restaurant, and even the plane. Then one day an elected official (I want to say Michael Bloomberg) came up with a law banning smoking indoors. People (mostly nicotine fiends) had a fit. It was perfectly reasonable for them to smoke anywhere they pleased and if you didn't like the smoke, then you should be the one to move away. You would be amazed at the people who felt that way then and still feel that way today. in any case, the law picked up steam in other states and jurisdictions, and before long it was illegal to smoke in most indoor venues across the country and today you cannot smoke in a movie theater and definitely not on public transportation. The "rights" nazis complained, but after some time, they got over it. The same thing has to happen with masks and vaccine mandates.
While we are in the pandemic, New York City has a mask mandate as well as a vaccine mandate. If you have the vaccine, you do not need to wear a mask indoors and restaurants are required to check your vaccination record in order for you to eat inside the restaurant. Anti mask wearers and anti-vaxxers of course feel they should be able to do what they want and could care less if you pick up covid from them or anyone else. They have a right to not wear a mask and "fuck you" if you feel you are not safe. People have fought bus drivers, store clerks and restaurant owners for asking them to put on a mask. Consequently, some owners aren't following the law because it is too hard for them. For me, it is just like the old cigarette law. For now, offenders will hate it, but in the long run the law will protect lives.
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