A Dallas group is organizing a massive house party tonight in Collin County, where people will celebrate the end of the statewide mandates by tossing their masks into a bonfire.
The party is being organized by the Dallas Jewish Conservatives. Benji Gershon is president of the group, and he says the party is getting a bad rap.
"It's really just about being able to embrace freedom and liberty and being able to make your own choices in life," Gershon says. "There's an option for people to throw their masks symbolically into the bonfire at the end of the evening, which will take up a small fraction of the event. That's very symbolic of being unshackled from the government imposed mandates and government overreach."
Gershon says he is not anti-mask and this is not an anti-mask party.
"It's really celebrating the opening of Texas," he says. "I'm personally not anti-mask. If somebody wants to wear a mask, that's their choice. There are certain situations where it makes perfect sense to wear a mask."
More than 250 people have signed up for the house party. Gershon says there will be speakers, live entertainment and refreshments. Masks, of course, are optional.
The event is not meant to be disrespectful, Gershon says, and at some point in the evening attendees will observe a moment of silence for those who have lost their lives to COVID-19.
"If I did upset anybody, I apologize," Gershon says. "It's not my intention."
Registrants must not hold the event organizers liable for illness, according to the event's description, and must acknowledge that "an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19 exists in any place where people are present.”