A Florida bar owner is banning customers from wearing masks and asking them to leave if they do

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

A sports bar owner in West Melbourne, Florida, has a no-mask policy for his customers amid the coronavirus pandemic, said he finds it "completely unnecessary to have facemasks at all. We do not support; we do not believe in them."

Gary Kirby, the owner of Westside Sports Bar and Lounge, started banning masks on September 11, placing a "Masks Prohibited" sign the front door. Kirby said anyone who refuses to take off their face coverings will be forced to leave the bar, WESH 2 reported.

"I personally don't agree with it. So that's why I made the decision to… I don't want them here," he said in an interview with Fox 35 Orlando. "It's hindering our lifestyle as we know it."

As of September 19, there have been at least 677,652 cases and 13,224 deaths in Florida since the beginning of the pandemic, according to The New York Times. Medical, science, and national experts urge people to wear face masks to stop the spread of the coronavirus, which has killed nearly 200,000 people in the US.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/a-florida-bar-owner-is-banning-customers-from-wearing-masks-and-asking-them-to-leave-if-they-do/ar-BB19ddwz?li=BBnb7Kz

#COVIDIOTBAR

[rockfordfile]

1. Idiot

[TheBlackAdder]

29. He provides a service--like a notice to really stupid moths 🦋 that a bug zapper ⚡️ light is nearby.

[sakabatou]

2. How long until his business gets a citation or the owner/patrons get ill?

[steve2470]

20. if he exceeds 50 percent occupancy, he can get a citation

if he continues to exceed it, the state can shut him down. They have done that in Orange County.

[leftyladyfrommo]

3. An idiot running a bar that only idiots will go to. nt

[Thomas Hurt]

4. Please proceed...roll the dice baby.

[lpbk2713]

5. The health dept should pay him a visit.

He admits he doesn't care about contagion. No telling what they might find.

[rufus dog]

31. Great point

We had an Asshole MAGAt restaurant/bar owner in our town. Couldn't help himself from being a complete ass on his establishments FB page.

Turns out the selfish prick was dumping oil into the storm drains, got popped for that multiple times, then lo and behold, he wasn't paying taxes and got shut down.

Good fucking riddance to the self entitled prick.

[Pisces]

6. Great, now smart people know to avoid the place

[MustLoveBeagles]

24. +1

[paleotn]

7. Good....

Kill off the morons before Nov. 3.

[demtenjeep]

8. may he be the next Herman Cain

fuck him

[steve2470]

9. fucking moron, ideal candidate for the "Florida Man" tag

Once his patrons and friends and family members start dying, MAYBE.....just maybe....he will change his tune. Perhaps not.

[still_one]

10. I suggest he invite Trump and Atlas to his bar for a drink

[Eliot Rosewater]

11. Without the dumbest adult on earth telling them not to wear masks, this never happens.

[tanyev]

12. The Drunker Games, where the odds are never in anyone's favor.

[brewens]

13. Smoking is allowed in bars there. It would be interesting if he didn't allow that. I'm sure

some are smoke free. You'd think a guy with his attitude would allow smoking.

I'm in Idaho where it is still allowed. There are quite a few that kicked the smokers out. They seem to have done pretty well. Those are mostly the bard frequented by more upper middle class, no doubt largely conservative.

[A HERETIC I AM]

27. It seems to me that a bar in FL. can only allow smoking if it does not serve food.

I live in Jacksonville, and that seems to be the case with the few bars I’ve been to, though individual counties may have different regulations.

But for the most part, if the place has a grill for example and serves burgers, there is no smoking inside.


Edit to add, that does not stop owners from ignoring those laws, however. And I don’t really think enforcing them is very high on any police forces priority list. Just as with any place else, most smaller establishments like this have a core group of regulars, and none of them are going to say a word.

[muntrv]

14. Self culling the herd.

[smirkymonkey]

15. Fine with me.

"Natural Selection Bar & Grill".

Go for it!

[Caliman73]

30. Except those people go out and stand in front of you or behind you at the grocery store.

They don't exist inside a bubble.

I would be all for it if it just affected fools who live in ignorance, but we all live together on this planet, in this country, in these states, in these towns, etc...

[smirkymonkey]

36. Yes, unfortunately that is true.

And it's very sad that there are so many people like this who are so careless and have so little concern for the people they come into contact with.

Which makes it all that much more important for the rest of us to use caution when we go out there, because we never know who we are mingling with. It would be nice if everyone cooperated, but since we know that certain people aren't we can only do our best to avoid them and protect ourselves.

[RANDYWILDMAN]

16. only 3k new cases in Florida today

doubt this bar will make that number go up

[steve2470]

19. and at least 30 of those people, if not many more, will die nt

[steve2470]

17. that bar owner STILL has to maintain ONLY 50 percent occupancy per Executive Order 20-139

https://www.flgov.com/wp-content/uploads/orders/2020/EO_20-139.pdf

A. Restaurants and other establishments, and bars and other vendors licensed to sell alcoholic beverages for consumption on the premises, may operate at fifty (50) percent of their indoor capacity, excluding employees, as under Executive Order
20-123, Section 1. Bar areas may be open with seated service. In addition, outdoor seating is permissible with appropriate social distancing. This section does not apply to nightclubs. Non-conflicting provisions in Executive Order 20-71, Sections 1 and 2 remain in effect.

The emergency executive order 2020-10 closing all bars (on June 26th) was rescinded on September 14th. See http://www.myfloridalicense.com/dbpr/os/documents/EO%202020-10.pdf

Therefore, if he exceeds 50% capacity, he CAN be reported for non-compliance. FYI.

[RhodeIslandOne]

18. I'm sure he beleives in freedom and individual liberty.

I hope he has the liberty to fucking drop dead.

[bdamomma]

22. They will not have

liberty and what freedom if they end up dead.

[bdamomma]

21. He will be killing off

his own customers. What jerks these trumpists are.

[Initech]

23. Someone should alert the health inspectors.

Because if he's violating the mask code, chances are good that his bar's got a lot of other things that are probably violating health codes.

[area51]

25. I love how in general people don't have a problem with

wearing a shirt and shoes, but a mask is a bridge too far.

[Caliman73]

33. t-shirt and shoes are not currently political issues.

Face masks have been made partisan issues by Trump and those who follow him, like DeSantis and local officials who dispute the science.

Wearing a mask or facial covering, has been shown by scientific method (which is the best thing we humans have at determining evidence of causation and correlation in reality) to be effective at limiting the spread of COVID-19. There is nothing that is 100% effective and we have no real effective treatment or vaccine. Because of Trump's complete inability to lead, he has focused on the framing of the issue rather than on dealing with the issue. He has made masks the sign of loyalty or disloyalty to his presidency and party affiliation or political ideology. I think that his supporters do not even consider the health consequences of the mask anymore, just the partisan significance. If you wear a mask you are a "libtard sheep" and if you don't you are a "patriot". They likely do not even understand the meanings of "libtard sheep" or "patriot" either because they seem to be operating on a completely emotional level at this point.

There are people out there who see wearing seatbelts and helmets as a political tool of "control v. freedom" but those people are on the fringe because as a society, we have all generally accepted that those items protect our lives. Initially there was slight controversy, but it was quickly noted, without much fanfare, that they did not "infringe on our liberties". Because we have an idiot in the White House, who cares more about "winning an argument" than the health and safety of citizens, AND because we have a right wing echo chamber that repeat his lies, this benign idea of wearing facial coverings during a pandemic, to help slow and stop the spread of an airborne respiratory virus, has become a matter of dispute.

[Aristus]

26. The voting margin in Florida is always down to several thousand.

If MAGAT's want to die before an extremely important election, the vote for which in Florida is likely to be close, I'm cool with that...

[Volaris]

35. It will be interesting next year to get those kinds if questions answered...

Donald trump lost florida by 7345 votes. Cross referencing party voter rolls with state death records says that 15000 registered Republicans died of covid last year in the state of florida.

Shit like that.
You KNOW its coming...

[Poiuyt]

28. There was also a sheriff in Florida who would not allow masks

No employees or guests were allowed to wear masks when they came to the sheriff's office.

[struggle4progress]

32. Come play with us and win prizes!

Win one of our grand prizes and meet Herman Cain!
Win one of our second prizes and enjoy a quiet stay in one of our region's seven hospitals!
Win one of our third prizes and see how Gramps and Granny look in mortuary make-up!

[Volaris]

34. Its gonna be fun listening to them cry when biden drops a federal safety mandate on their heads..

Masks in public, or lock your business doors. Dont like either of those?

Ok. Pay a 50000$ federal fine for each day you refuse. See how long your business stays open

I'm done with these idiots.

[Crunchy Frog]

37. Anyone who walks into that bar richly deserves whatever happens to them.

[DFW]

38. I'd be equally as nasty as they are

Have health department officials take photos of everyone going in there, make exceptions for people who need to, such as deliveries and inspectors, and then refuse treatment and medication at all hospitals if any if owners or patrons show up seeking treatment for Covid-19.

These people are like drunks at a pool party who jump in the water and then complain that their clothes are wet.