It’s not the masks—or even the vax—but the fact that in New York State, they’re mandated by the Governor’s Executive Order and not the Constitution.
That was the sentiment on the ground in Cobleskill Saturday when about 75 supporters of Strength in Numbers rallied for the right to make their own decisions about COVID.
Friday, based on declining, but still worrisome COVID numbers, Governor Kathy Hochul extended the state’s requirement for masks or vaccines through February 10.
Masks also continue to be required in schools while the state appeals a state court’s ruling that the mandate is unconstitutional and can’t be enforced.
In December, Schoharie County’s Board of Supervisors voted not to enforce the mask mandate; local schools are still requiring masks while the court case moves forward.
With signs insisting “I Will Not Comply Or Co-Parent With The Government!!!” “No More Masks,” and “Freedom Not Tyranny,” Strength in Numbers supporters made their feelings on all of it clear Saturday.
Before the rally got underway, Victor Taylor of Cobleskill, one of the organizers, said they’re not opposed to either masks or COVID vaccines—but feel they shouldn’t be mandated.
Mr. Taylor also said he wishes there could be more of a local dialogue on the topic.
“I think we’d find there’s more we agree on than we don’t,” he said.
“We need to stop giving away our rights. We need to pay attention to the Constitution and get back to our roots.”
Lorraine Bowers of Summit, another member of Strength in Numbers on hand to help with the set-up, agreed.
“It’s not the law. It’s all about freedom of choice,” she said.
According to the state Health Department, the seven-day COVID positivity rate in the Mohawk Valley, which includes Schoharie County, is 10.3 percent.
Locally, it remains slightly higher at 11.2 percent.
Thirty-three Schoharie County residents have died from COVID.
Some of Saturday’s speakers disputed those numbers—especially when it came to children’s deaths—maintaining vaccines are neither safe nor effective.
Michael Purcell, an Albany-based pediatrician, was one of them; Bryan Ludwig, a Cobleskill chiropractor, was another.
Both speakers called for people to take control of their own health care.
Mr. Taylor pointed to both men as proof that supporters are educated—and not the “rednecks” they’re painted as on Facebook; a line of local veterans also lined Main Street in support of the event.
Marcus Merwin, a sophomore at Schoharie Central School, spoke against masks, which he said make it hard to breathe during sports.
“What do we do now?” asked Mr. Taylor taking the mic. “We have to take the position that all of us have the authority.”
For him, that means he’s running for a seat on the Cobleskill-Richmondville school board and he urged others in the audience to do the same in their communities.
“We are Strength in Numbers,” he said. “Nothing’s going to change unless we create that change.”