To our Sheriff:

We, the citizens of Taylor County, Texas, urge you to publicly opt out of the mask mandate issued by Governor Abbott.

Governor Abbott continues to grossly overstep his authority with this order. On June 18th, Governor Abbott was quoted saying “we want to make sure individual liberty is not infringed upon by government, and hence government cannot require individuals to wear masks”, and we could not agree more.

As of July 21st, a mere 0.68% of our county's total population has tested positive for COVID-19. Only 8.5% of tested individuals returned a positive result. Of those who have tested positive, 51% have fully recovered. Our county's death rate is 1.1%. Despite these positive figures which clearly show our county is a low risk community, 100% of the population of our county has been forced to involuntarily give up their freedom.

We are free people, our rights are defined and protected by both the US Constitution and Texas Constitution. We, as individuals, are responsible for our health and safety. The decision to wear a mask, or not wear a mask, is up to us, the individual, not the state. You, as the conservator of the peace and executive officer of the county, are responsible for preserving our liberties. You are our last line of defense against a blatantly tyrannical mandate.

Article 1, Section 19 of the Texas Constitution states “no citizen of this State shall be deprived of life, liberty, property, privileges, or immunities, or in any manner disenfranchised, except by the due court of law of the land”. A mandate is not a law. This order was not passed as a law by our elected representatives. Moreover, Governor Abbott's mandate is written in a way that makes it unenforceable, and is therefore an undue burden on your office.

Furthermore, while the mandate does allow for exemptions, many citizens who qualify for medical exemptions are being put in the paradoxical position of being forced to either wear a mask (often against the advice of the healthcare providers) or reveal their protected health information.

Sheriff Bishop, please issue a press release to immediately opt out of this mandate, and restore liberty to our county.