EDITORIAL: Vocal Mesquite lawmaker a victim of mask theater

Lawmakers have great leeway to set their own legislative rules in Carson City, but the Democratic majority abused its discretion when it stripped GOP Assemblywoman Annie Black of her voting rights over a mask dispute.

Ms. Black, who represents Mesquite, is serving her first term and has distinguished herself as an in-your-face Trump Republican, which hasn’t endeared her to some members of her own party, let alone her Democratic colleagues.

Perhaps taking her cue from GOP House members in Washington who have flouted Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s mask mandates for the chamber, Ms. Black last week launched a similar protest.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that fully vaccinated individuals no longer need to wear masks but recommends that those who haven’t received the shots continue to cover their faces in public. As of last Tuesday, however, the Democrats running the Legislature, along with their lawyers at the Legislative Counsel Bureau, were still operating under chamber rules passed four months ago, which demanded that lawmakers mask up in the building.

To make her point about heavy-handed COVID restrictions, Ms. Black took to the floor on Tuesday and removed her mask. Democrats, saying they had no idea whether the assemblywoman had received her shots, reacted with dismay. Ms. Black, refused to say whether she had sat for the vaccine.

Ms. Black did herself no favors with this publicity stunt. She later told the Review-Journal’s Steve Sebelius that she had previously contracted the virus and believed she had immunity.

By Wednesday, the LCB had issued new protocols based on the updated CDC guidance. But when Ms. Black again appeared on the floor sans mask, Democrats proceeded to strip her of voting and speaking privileges for violating chamber rules.

To say this is petty and excessive is an understatement.

Ms. Black’s publicity stunt clearly served her purpose. Fine. But of greater importance, the Nevadans in District 19 elected Ms. Black to the Assembly. By silencing her and confiscating her vote, Democrats deprive her constituents of their voice in the lower chamber. That’s a punishment that must be reserved for the most egregious ethical or legal breach, which hardly describes Ms. Black’s actions.

Democrats should relent and restore Ms. Black’s right to participate in legislative activities.