Claire Osborn Austin American-Statesman
AUSTIN, Texas — Two groups on Monday are holding a rally at the state Capitol in Austin against Gov. Greg Abbott’s order lifting the statewide mask mandate in public places.
The Amplified Sound Coalition and the Austin chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America will be protesting Monday outside the south steps of the Capitol.
Protesters are asking the governor not to relax the mask mandate until 70% of the state’s essential workers are vaccinated.
“Let’s show our government what the masked faces of sacrificial employees look like,” Jeanette Gregor, the co-founder of Amplified Sound Coalition, said on a video posted on the group’s Facebook page.
“This is not a political issue. This is a class issue and we have just been given the ultimate backhand by our government,” she said.
The coalition represents music industry workers. Gregor in the video also asked for essential workers, including restaurant employees, to come to the rally.
More: Will you continue to wear a mask in public spaces? We want to hear from you.
Abbott’s order eliminating a statewide mask mandate in public places becomes effective this Wednesday.
The order allows businesses to decide whether they will still require employees and customers to wear face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
Gregor said lifting the mask mandate will lead to event staff, industry staff, bar staff, musicians and sound engineers getting sick with COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.
“WE want to put on a show,” Gregor said. “We want to produce events. We want to play music again. But there’s something more: We want to survive.”
Currently the people eligible to receive the coronavirus vaccine in Texas include school staff and child care employees, front-line health care workers and nursing home residents, people ages 65 and older, and people 16 and older with underlying health issues such as heart conditions, respiratory ailments or diabetes.
