KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Facebook event titled “Rally Against KCMO Mask Mandate” is encouraging Kansas City residents to show up to Thursday’s city council meeting in opposition of the recent mask mandate.
The organizer of the rally, Cara Rolofson, said she did so for her and others to “stand in solidarity and in support for medical freedom.”
The Facebook event instructs participants to meet outside of the KC City Hall at 2:30 p.m. on Thursday. Attendees will then walk into the City Council meeting holding signs depicting their displeasure with the ordinance. The online event also has “SILENT MAJORITY NO MORE” written in its description.
Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas reinstated a citywide indoor mask mandate that began on Monday and – if it’s not overturned – will carry through until at least August 28. The mandate applies to every person ages 5 and older in public places regardless of vaccination status.
Rolofson said she created the event “in an effort to better facilitate and to get the word out” about the meeting in hopes that others would join her in attending. She also said that the rally is not necessarily about masks, but about medical freedom and consent.
“No matter what side of the aisle you are on regarding masks, one should never try to control another human being through medical mandates against their consent,” she said. “Medical freedom is a freedom that should be fiercely protected.”
Rolofson also called out Lucas for encouraging businesses to only allow vaccinated individuals to enter, saying that he is “enticing segregation” of the vaccinated and unvaccinated.
The rally comes after criticism from citizens and political officials across the state for the reinstated mandate. On Tuesday, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit over the ordinance, saying it’s unreasonable, unconstitutional, arbitrary and capricious.
Rolofson called on the City Council to overturn the order and encouraged citizens who oppose it to show up at the rally and make sure their voice is heard.
“The KC City Council has the ability to overturn the mandate set in place by KC Mayor Lucas,” she said. “It is imperative to reach out to the city council members as well as show up and let your voice be heard. Wearing a mask should be an individual choice.”
As the rally proceeds on Thursday and the lawsuit makes its way through the courts, Lucas and the City Council should anticipate more pressure to walk back the directive.
