Name: Protesters bash NH mask mandate outside Gov. Sununu's home
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Protesters bash NH mask mandate outside Gov. Sununu's home

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Karen Dandurantnews@seacoastonline.comNEWFIELDS — At least 100 protesters expressed their displeasure with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's new statewide mask mandate Sunday, holding a protest outside his private residence.The group gathered on a grassy area near the end of a cul-de-sac where Sununu's home is located, at about 2 p.m., without masks.Protesters chanted “Breathe free or die" and "We will not comply." People gathered were invited to take a turn at the bullhorn, shouting messages at Sununu’s house and urging him to come out and talk with him though there was no way for them to know if he was inside.Frank Staples was the organizer of the event, working with the group Absolute Defiance. He was asked why the group chose to protest outside Sununu's home rather than at the Statehouse, where numerous protests have been held."The Statehouse is closed," Staples said. "He has shut everything down and is running the government from his house, so right now this is the Statehouse. We will be here every weekend till he ends his executive orders and the state of emergency."Staples said Absolute Defiance and other groups like Reopen NH had been talking about holding a protest outside the governor's home previously, but made the decision after&nbsp;&nbsp;was announced Thursday.More:More:More:"We decided this is when we had to do it, " Staples said. "People say, 'You're doing this in front of his home and his family.' The family are not the innocent ones here. We the people are the innocents."Sununu had been reluctant for months to order a mask mandate while every other state in New England had done so already. He took action amid a surge in cases in New Hampshire that far surpasses the number of cases seen at any time during the pandemic that has gone on for months.“We said we would make sure we’d let data drive our decisions and it’s clear looking at the data this mask mandate is in our best interest,” Sununu said last week.According to the Centers for Disease Control "face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities."“We are not defenseless against COVID-19,” said CDC Director Dr. Robert R. Redfield. “Cloth face coverings are one of the most powerful weapons we have to slow and stop the spread of the virus – particularly when used universally within a community setting. All Americans have a responsibility to protect themselves, their families, and their communities.”Anne Copp, a Republican state representative-elect from Derry, called the governor's task force on reopening the state "a joke."She said, "They didn't take into consideration any input from people who called into the task force," claiming businesses received no guidance on how to operate. “There are 1.3 million people in this state, and 525 people have died. That is less than one part of 1%. More people are lost to the flu, so this mandate is not supported by facts.”Copp said the groups have done demonstrations at the state house, to no avail. She said no one comes to talk with them, so they hoped coming to the house might get the governor to talk with them.A man who identi himself as Brennan Robinson of Alton said the mask mandate was not necessary."I thought people were complying just fine without a mandate," he said. "Now the governor, on his own, without the legislature, is trying to create new law. He knows that half the Republican Party in the Statehouse is against this. So why is the governor suddenly playing dictator? I have severe asthma and nobody in any business is honoring me when I tell them I have a medical exception."Linda Molinaro of Campton said she has lost friends because of her belief that masks are not necessary.“I was sprayed with disinfectant at a popular chair pharmacy by the manager,” she said. “The police were called on me last week at another store. All I want is my right to decide.”Staples said the state government needs to look at the other side of how it is handling the virus.“Look at the depression, the suicides,” he said. “Look at the alcohol and substance abuse. Recovery is not happening because people can’t go anywhere for help.”Ben Vihstadt, spokesperson for Sununu, said he would respond to a request for comment on the protest. As of 6:30&nbsp;p.m., no response had been received.This story may be updated.

Karen Dandurantnews@seacoastonline.comNEWFIELDS — At least 100 protesters expressed their displeasure with Republican Gov. Chris Sununu's new statewide mask mandate Sunday, holding a protest outside his private residence.The group gathered on a grassy area near the end of a cul-de-sac where Sununu's home is located, at about 2 p.m., without masks.Protesters chanted “Breathe free or die" and "We will not comply." People gathered were invited to take a turn at the bullhorn, shouting messages at Sununu’s house and urging him to come out and talk with him though there was no way for them to...

Protesters bash NH mask mandate outside Gov. Sununu's home

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