Business owner Rowlett says no masks are allowed in his bar – can he do that?

In one incident, Dallas resident Natalie Wester described as ‘bizarre’, she and her husband Jose Lopez were recently ordered to remove their masks while inside a bar called Hang Time Sports Grill & Bar in Rowlett. Or go.

Bar owner Tom Blackmer doesn’t think the confrontation was weird: he doesn’t want his patrons to wear masks inside, and he’s sick of talking about it.

“We told him along the way that we don’t allow masks,” he says. It’s a decision he says he made in April – a decision that has been controversial at times, but most patrons will just look for another bar.

“They have the choice to go where they want; there are thousands of bars around here. Go somewhere else, ”says Blackmer.

Wester and Lopez have 4-month-old son Austin with cystic fibrosis, and they say they were wearing their masks because pediatricians at Children’s Health in Dallas told them to take “extra precautions, even without COVID,” says Wester. Both parents are fully vaccinated.

Blackmer thinks they should have stayed home.

“If you are protecting someone, you shouldn’t go out,” he said.

What is the mask rule at the moment?

According to Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order, authoritative bodies like counties and schools cannot require Texans to wear a mask.

Some jurisdictions, like Dallas County, are fighting Abbott’s ban. Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins is being harassed in an ongoing legal battle to try to avoid Abbott’s order so the county can adopt a mask requirement.

But Hang Time is in Rockwall County, and Judge David Sweet isn’t actively trying to change Abbott’s order. The state executive decree remains in place.

Where does Rockwall County stand on COVID-19 cases and deaths?

According to the CDC’s COVID Data Tracker, community transmission of COVID-19 is “high”, based on data as of September 20.

The page says everyone in Rockwall County should wear a mask indoors in public places.

The county has seen a steady increase in COVID-19 cases since July, although deaths remained low in mid-2021. Rockwall County recorded 612 new cases between September 12 and 18 and fewer than 10 deaths.

Can a bar owner enforce a “no mask allowed” policy?

Yes they can. “It’s a free market,” said Justice Sweet of Rockwall County.

“There is no local mandate in place, and a business owner has the right to operate their business as they see fit,” he says.

When it comes to Wester and Lopez’s rights in trying to protect their son, there is a gray area. Generally, people with disabilities have the right to wear a mask, according to a statement from Disability Rights Texas, a legal protection and rights organization.

“In our opinion, this accommodation could also be offered to family members of people with disabilities, on the basis of either the law or notions of good neighborliness and common decency,” read a statement from the group.

Wester has no plans to take legal action, she said.

How would you wear a mask inside a bar anyway, if you eat and drink?

This is a question that has never stopped asking Dallas Morning News readers during the coronavirus pandemic. Previous mask mandates stipulated that restaurant and bar patrons were required to wear a mask when entering or leaving, or when standing up to use the bathroom. Anyone seated at a table did not have to wear a mask.

Those rules were erased with Abbott’s latest order banning mask warrants – except in jurisdictions that oppose them, or when a company wanted to demand masks itself.

For Wester and Lopez, they chose to keep their masks around their chins while eating and drinking. Wester says she pulled it up between bites and sips.

Explain the chain of events that led the parents to leave the bar.

According to Wester, she and her husband lowered their masks when they presented their IDs. Blackmer says they were asked to remove their masks at that time; Wester says she couldn’t hear the request because of the live music. The two wore their masks in the bar and then continued to wear them at the table. A waiter came and asked them to take off their masks.

While some reports claim Wester and Lopez were “kicked” from the bar for not complying, they were not. They were asked to leave and told the bartender would close their bill if they didn’t remove their masks.

Wester and Lopez paid their bill and left.

It was after Wester posted his experience to Facebook that the story became national news. Wester explains his side in a Dallas Morning News maintenance:

“My first thought is that we wear a mask to protect people – ourselves or others. But it seemed their reasoning for not letting us wear a mask was purely political, ”Wester said. “It was almost like they were kidding. … With Greg Abbott no longer needing masks in Texas, I felt like they were using it to their advantage.

What is the reasoning of the owner of the bar?

“It’s just a decision I made,” he says.

Blackmer says his stance against masks is not political and that he does not support the choices presidents have made during the coronavirus pandemic. “I don’t like any of them,” he says of outgoing President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden.

“If they are protecting themselves or if they are protecting others, they shouldn’t be here,” he says of customers wearing masks. “If you are afraid, stay home. “

What was the backlash?

The owner deleted the Hang Time Facebook page due to the deluge of comments. He says it has been “a beating all day, every minute” since the reports aired, and he has received angry phone calls and threats from across the country.

Will the bar owner continue to apply the “no mask” policy?

Yes. Hang Time does not have a sign, but when customers enter, he or his staff will ask anyone wearing a mask to remove it or take their belongings elsewhere.

What are public health officials saying about wearing masks?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says anyone over the age of 2 who is not fully vaccinated should wear a mask indoors.

The CDC notes that people with chronic lung diseases, like Wester’s baby with cystic fibrosis, are more likely to get sick from COVID-19.

Fully vaccinated people can resume their activities from the pre-pandemic times, according to the CDC.

But, those in a high transmission area due to the Delta variant – like Rockwall County, marked “high” risk by the CDC – are encouraged to wear masks indoors in public.

For more restaurant and bar stories, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.