To the issues creating a partisan divide in state legislatures across the U.S., add this one: masks.
Many Democratic lawmakers are wearing them amid the coronavirus outbreak while many Republicans refuse.
"Public health has become partisan," bemoaned South Carolina state Rep. Kambrell Garvin, a Democrat who recently became ill from COVID-19.
As legislatures around the country resume work following coronavirus suspensions, Democrats and Republicans also have split over social distancing, remote voting and the extension of emergency powers for governors who had ordered businesses to close and residents to remain home.
Lawmakers have become ill from the coronavirus in nearly half the states, with Democrats accounting for about two-thirds of the 40 confirmed COVID-19 cases, according to an Associated Press tally. Three lawmakers died of the virus — a Michigan Democrat in late March and Republicans in Louisiana and South Dakota in early April.
Partisan divisions appear to have grown since then, particularly in the South and Midwest, as some Republicans pushed to reopen the economy faster than some Democrats.
While there have been bipartisan exceptions, mask-wearing divisions among Democrats and Republicans have been evident during recent legislative sessions in 13 states, including Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri.
"The whole idea behind it is 'I wear my mask to protect you,' and it's not so much to protect me," said Kansas Democratic Rep. Barbara Ballard, who wore a mask festooned with the University of Kansas mascot during a legislative session last week.
Kansas House Majority Leader Dan Hawkins of Wichita, who like many Republicans remained mask-less, said face coverings diminish personal communication because you can't see lips. Republicans, he said, are "a very independent lot" who "really don't like to be told what to do."
Some lawmakers have removed masks when talking into microphones during debates — the very time when they may be more likely to expel virus-carrying particles. Others have worn loose-fitting masks that slip off their faces.
Colorado state Sen. Jim Smallwood, a Republican who had recovered from a mild case of the coronavirus, wore a mask that repeatedly slipped off his nose as he argued unsuccessfully last month against a Democratic rule change allowing lawmakers to vote remotely without attending sessions.
"I feel like it sets a good example and it puts other people at ease," Smallwood told the AP.
When the Missouri House met in early April to pass a coronavirus budget bill, Republican leadership imposed strict social distancing. Lawmakers listened to proceedings over the internet in offices until summoned to the chamber in small groups to vote. Nearly everyone wore masks.
Yet those precautions were abandoned as the House finished its session in May. Lawmakers sat packed together at desks and few Republicans wore masks, though numerous Democrats still did.
Democratic Rep. Joe Runions, who had been out for six weeks with COVID-19, was aghast at what he described as "inconsiderate and selfish" behavior.
"To me, leadership starts with, you put that mask on. I don't care who you are — the president, the governor, the pope, whoever," Runions said.
Republican House Speaker Elijah Haahr noted that lawmakers' temperatures were checked as they entered the Capitol.
Health screenings also were required of legislative staff and media at the Alaska Capitol, although lawmakers could skip it. Protocols said masks were required. But Republican state Sen. Lora Reinbold didn't wear one.
"It didn't make sense to me," Reinbold said. "I saw no research on cloth, silk, cotton face coverings ... that they prevent COVID."
The coroanvirus can be spread through respiratory droplets when people cough, sneeze or talk. The CDC says cloth masks can help prevent people, who may not realize they are infected, from spreading the virus to others.
Some lawmakers have removed masks when talking into microphones during debates — the very time when they may be more likely to expel virus-carrying particles. Others have worn loose-fitting masks that slip off their faces.
