That's one way to enforce mask mandates.

MAPLEWOOD, Minn. (FOX 9) - A 64-year-old man has been charged with assault for reportedly pulling a gun on a Maplewood gym manager after seeing that some members were not wearing face masks.

According to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office, Michael Florhaug is now charged with second-degree assault.

The criminal complaint states that on Dec. 31, Florhaug went to LA Fitness to personally monitor whether or not members were complying with the state mandated mask requirement for gyms. Florhaug is not a member of the gym.

Florhaug reportedly spoke to employees at the front desk, aggressively complaining that some members were not wearing masks. Eventually, the manager arrived and told Florhaug he had to leave the gym.

According to the complaint, the manager tried to explain that staff cannot be everywhere in the gym to constantly enforce the mandate. Florhaug said he was going to walk around the gym and take photos of people who weren't complying with the mandate. Photography is not allowed at the gym without members' consent.

As Florhaug tried to enter the gym, the manager put his hands up to stop him from going inside. Then, Florhaug said, 'Oh, yeah?' and pulled out a gun, which he pointed at the manager's chest. The manager backed away, and Florhaug put the gun back in his sweatshirt pocket.

When Florhaug walked back toward the front of the gym, the manager tackled him from behind. The manager disarmed Florhaug, removed the magazine from the gun and made sure there was not a round of ammunition in the chamber. Police arrived on scene, and Florhaug was taken into custody.

https://www.fox9.com/news/charges-man-pulls-gun-on-manager-after-seeing-maskless-patrons-in-maplewood-gym?fbclid=IwAR2Vn8ktSmmv9csSbtC9viwOOoW0knC4ec7OsASpTBjTDVhR4UYMzGHzNuQ

A tad of an over reaction.

OK, it annoying when we see people deliberately flouting the rules, not wearing masks, not giving others space, having open house to everyone they did before the pandemic, and especially irritating if you are the one trying to follow all the rules, not only for yourself, but for society in general, in the hope that as many people can come through this intact.
And I cant imagine how hard it is to ignore all the blatant rule breaking if someone you love has actually been seriously ill, or worse died of the virus.

Maybe it's time to bring in the military (not to shoot people as Nicko said yesterday ) to enforce with more conviction the pretty simple rules that we all should be following right now.

A question hopefully Tommy may see and respond to.

Do you wear a mask and adhere to social distancing in public?

Syl wrote:A tad of an over reaction.

OK, it annoying when we see people deliberately flouting the rules, not wearing masks, not giving others space, having open house to everyone they did before the pandemic, and especially irritating if you are the one trying to follow all the rules, not only for yourself, but for society in general, in the hope that as many people can come through this intact.
And I cant imagine how hard it is to ignore all the blatant rule breaking if someone you love has actually been seriously ill, or worse died of the virus.

Maybe it's time to bring in the military (not to shoot people as Nicko said yesterday ) to enforce with more conviction the pretty simple rules that we all should be following right now.

The military makes terrible law enforcement. We can't use them on our soil anyway, so its moot. Governors can activate the national guard, but that's short term and a few hundred guardsmen in a city aren't going to make much impact. Here in the US, the pushback would be intense if you tried enforcing mask mandates with soldiers. Even people who support masks would rebel against the idea of federal troops trying to enforce mask mandates.

In free ish countries like ours, we have to accept that 90-95% compliance is about all you're going to get and hope that its enough to buy us enough time.

Wearing a mask during a pandemic is just like wearing a seatbelt, refraining from smoking or not driving while intoxicated. There is always some opposition, and in responses there are always some overly-enthusiastic individuals who want to enforce the norm.

We've seen this before.

No one wants soldiers patrolling the streets ordering people to follow the rules, but needs must, and tbh, the idiots who blatantly refuse to help rid the country of a deadly virus by potentially spreading it, need to behave responsibly...if not voluntarily, then they should face consequences.

Syl wrote:No one wants soldiers patrolling the streets ordering people to follow the rules, but needs must, and tbh, the idiots who blatantly refuse to help rid the country of a deadly virus by potentially spreading it, need to behave responsibly...if not voluntarily, then they should face consequences.

I agree. It's a police problem, if anything. The latest thing before covid-19 was not cell-phoning while driving. We successfully tamped that down.

Imagine, however, if a president or PM actually came out and advocated talking on the cell phone while driving...arguing that the pedestrian deaths are merely a cost of doing business. Then, an entire political party (Republicans) made it their platform that cell-phone use while driving was a fundamental right, fook the deaths.

That's actually what we have presently in the US.

Original Quill wrote:

Syl wrote:No one wants soldiers patrolling the streets ordering people to follow the rules, but needs must, and tbh, the idiots who blatantly refuse to help rid the country of a deadly virus by potentially spreading it, need to behave responsibly...if not voluntarily, then they should face consequences.

I agree.  It's a police problem, if anything.  The latest thing before covid-19 was not cell-phoning while driving.  We successfully tamped that down.

Imagine, however, if a president or PM actually came out and advocated talking on the cell phone while driving...arguing that the pedestrian deaths are merely a cost of doing business.  Then, an entire political party (Republicans) made it their platform that cell-phone use while driving was a fundamental right, fook the deaths.

That's actually what we have presently in the US.

Actually, talking on the cellphone while driving is quite legal where I live.

Texting isn't.

Maddog wrote:

Original Quill wrote:

I agree.  It's a police problem, if anything.  The latest thing before covid-19 was not cell-phoning while driving.  We successfully tamped that down.

Imagine, however, if a president or PM actually came out and advocated talking on the cell phone while driving...arguing that the pedestrian deaths are merely a cost of doing business.  Then, an entire political party (Republicans) made it their platform that cell-phone use while driving was a fundamental right, fook the deaths.

That's actually what we have presently in the US.

Actually, talking on the cellphone while driving is quite legal where I live.

Texting isn't.

It's not in California. A lot of mother/child (pushing a pram) in pedestrian crosswalks were killed, when the at-fault driver was dialing or texting. They are still legal when the car is equipped with a speaker phone, tho.

I was joking when I said shoot on sight those who disregard the rules. But the very least that should happen is instant arrest and a good beating [till the blood flows] then taken around a Hospital where patients are fighting for their lives !

nicko wrote:I was joking when I said shoot on sight those who disregard the rules. But the very least that should happen is instant arrest and a good beating [till the blood flows] then taken around a Hospital where patients are fighting for their lives !  

When I was a girl I worked a couple of summer seasons in the Isle of man where the birch was legal, most youngsters visitors and locals alike followed the rules on the island.
Even Scottish fortnight, when it did get pretty rough, when i was there no one misbehaved badly enough to warrant the birch.

I'm still joking [about the Blood], but there's got to be a viable and visible deterrent, otherwise, there'll be no end to it !

nicko wrote:I'm still joking [about the Blood], but there's got to be a viable and visible deterrent, otherwise, there'll be no end to it !

I agree Nicko, when we have been in shops over the last few months I would say 20/30% of the shoppers are not wearing masks.
As far as the big supermarkets like Asda and Sainsburys etc go....they have made fortunes since this pandemic started, the least they could do is train their security guards to man the entrances and refuse entry to people who choose not to wear a mask.

Syl wrote:

nicko wrote:I'm still joking [about the Blood], but there's got to be a viable and visible deterrent, otherwise, there'll be no end to it !

I agree Nicko, when we have been in shops over the last few months I would say 20/30% of the shoppers are not wearing masks.
As far as the big supermarkets like Asda and Sainsburys etc go....they have made fortunes since this pandemic started, the least they could do is train their security guards to man the entrances and refuse entry to people who choose not to wear a mask.

I'm shocked at those numbers. I would think Texans would be far less inclined to follow rules than Brits and I see a out 98% compliance. Even in small diners out in the country.

In fact, the only time I've seen someone without a mask the part few months is in restaurants. Of course we don't wear them while eating, but you have to wear one when you stand up to leave or go to the.restroom. People who wore them coming in forget to put them on.

I've started wearing bandanas and neck gaiters because I'm tired of walking back to the truck when I forget my mask.

Maddog wrote:

Syl wrote:

I agree Nicko, when we have been in shops over the last few months I would say 20/30% of the shoppers are not wearing masks.
As far as the big supermarkets like Asda and Sainsburys etc go....they have made fortunes since this pandemic started, the least they could do is train their security guards to man the entrances and refuse entry to people who choose not to wear a mask.

I'm shocked at those numbers. I would think Texans would be far less inclined to follow rules than Brits and I see a out 98% compliance.  Even in small diners out in the country.  

In fact, the only time I've seen someone without a mask the part few months is in restaurants. Of course we don't wear them while eating, but you have to wear one when you stand up to leave or go to the.restroom. People who wore them coming in forget to put them on.  

I've started wearing bandanas and neck gaiters because I'm tired of walking back to the truck when I forget my mask.  

Maybe I live in a particularly rebellious (or more like stupid) part of the UK, but that's what I see.
It does annoy me that the big shops like Boots and Wilko, who often have security guards at the entrance, don't stop people entering when they are not wearing a mask. Smaller shops with no security I can understand more.
ALL shops have the notices in their windows...saying it's mandatory to wear a face covering when entering.

I get my big food shop delivered since the pandemic started, but I believe Asda is one of the worst shops to ignore mask wearing and social distancing.

Syl wrote:

Maddog wrote:

I'm shocked at those numbers. I would think Texans would be far less inclined to follow rules than Brits and I see a out 98% compliance.  Even in small diners out in the country.  

In fact, the only time I've seen someone without a mask the part few months is in restaurants. Of course we don't wear them while eating, but you have to wear one when you stand up to leave or go to the.restroom. People who wore them coming in forget to put them on.  

I've started wearing bandanas and neck gaiters because I'm tired of walking back to the truck when I forget my mask.  

Maybe I live in a particularly rebellious (or more like stupid) part of the UK, but that's what I see.
It does annoy me that the big shops like Boots and Wilko, who often have security guards at the entrance, don't stop people entering when they are not wearing  a mask. Smaller shops with no security I can understand more.
ALL shops have the notices in their windows...saying it's mandatory to wear a face covering when entering.

I get my big food shop delivered since the pandemic started, but I believe Asda is one of the worst shops to ignore mask wearing and social distancing.

Yeah, every public building here has signs.

I always considered Brits to be better rule followers. That's the impression I've gotten while posting with y'all over the years.