Florida and 20 other states filed a lawsuit Tuesday challenging the federal government’s requirement that people wear masks on planes, trains, ferries and other forms of public transportation due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Tampa, Florida, contends that the mask mandate exceeds the authority of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“It is high time to get rid of this unnecessary mandate and get back to normal life,” said Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a Republican who has long challenged federal mask mandates, including those involving women. cruise lines, private companies and other entities.
The CDC has established a rule, effective February 1, 2021, that requires “the use of face coverings by individuals traveling on public transportation or in transportation hub facilities,” according to the website. from the agency.
This rule has been relaxed somewhat, to end the requirements for certain buses among others, but was recently extended until at least April 18 for domestic and international travel in general.
Still, Florida and the other states continued with the lawsuit, which comes amid a partisan divide over the response to the COVID-19 pandemic and questions of government control versus individual rights.
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, a Republican and former judge from Tampa, said in a press release that travel mask mandates “are frustrating travelers and causing chaos on public transportation.”
This claim appears to refer to a series of highly publicized clashes between flight crews and passengers over the mask requirement on commercial airliners.