The chaos that erupted Tuesday night after the Williamson County Board of Education in Franklin, Tennessee, approved a mask requirement for elementary schools reflects sentiment across the nation.
A parent who identified himself as a former Marine warned board members before the vote, according to CNN, that if they passed the mandate, "we will come for you, in a non-violent way."
"In the past, you dealt with sheep, now prepare yourself to deal with lions," he said.
Meanwhile, at the nearby Nashville School Board meeting on Tuesday night, parents protested that district's recently passed mask mandate.
Talk-radio host Clay Travis, who has three children in the Nashville district, was among the parents who spoke, noted Roger Simon in a column for the Epoch Times.
"We teach our kids that facts matter. That is why they go to school," Travis said. "The facts are these. Masks don’t work. There isn’t a single scientific data that has ever proven that masks work.
"Also, let’s talk about risk analysis," he continued. "I feel bad for all of these people walking around in masks and engaging in cosmetic theater thinking that they are making a difference against COVID. They aren’t."
Another parent, Matt Walsh, who writes for Ben Shapiro's Daily Wire, argued that the seasonal flu is more dangerous to children than COVID, yet masks have not been required.
"The mask is a security blanket, for you, not for them," he told the board.
Rankin County, Mississippi, saw a similar backlash to the one in Tennessee as it decided to implement a new mask mandate.
"The choice belongs to the parent and legal guardians. As a parent I make the medical decisions for my children, not the school district," Kassie Wilson reportedly said.
'We'll not comply!'
In Franklin, outside the building after the session, The Hill reported, parents changed "We'll not comply!"
On Thursday, every member of the Tennessee House asked Gov. Bill Lee to call a special session to strip local health departments and school boards of their power to enforce COVID-19 mandates, including mask requirements.
The lawmakers also want to debate the blocking of unvaccinated people from certain venues.
The nation's largest teachers union, the National Education Association, declared this week it supports vaccine mandates after being against them.
The other major teachers union, the American Federation of Teachers, also has changed it position and now support them, following a unanimous vote by its executive council Wednesday night.
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