A school board member in Oklahoma claimed Monday that young students may “murder” each other by transmitting COVID-19 if they do not wear masks in class.
“It’s just not OK for kids to commit murder by coming to school without a mask,” said Norman Public Schools board member Linda Sexton during a board meeting on Monday.
“And when it comes down to it, it’s possible. They will cause a death of another child because they come to school without a mask. That’s not OK,” Sexton can be heard saying in a video of the meeting posted online by the school board.
Sexton urged Norman Public Schools to fight back against a law passed by Governor Kevin Stitt in May that bans school districts from implementing mask mandates unless the governor has declared a state of emergency that impacts that area.
“I would like to try to find a way to stand up as a district and get our surrounding superintendents to stand up with us, and protect our little kids,” she said. “It’s insane to send 5- and 6- and 7- and 8- – all the way up through 11-year-olds – that don’t have a choice about vaccine.”
Mask orders have been given renewed consideration as concern grows over the highly contagious delta variant. The new variant is spreading rapidly in areas with low vaccination rates.
However, such requirements have drawn criticism from conservatives who argue that the mandates violate constitutional freedoms.
“This is about personal responsibility, this is about freedoms,” Stitt said last month.
“Nothing in the legislation last year prevents a parent from sending their child to school with a mask on, or prevents anyone from having their child under 12 get vaccinated. The difference is we’re not going to mandate that somebody else has to send their 4-year-old to school with a mask.”