BOZEMAN — The Gallatin City-County Health Department Board of Health was scheduled to discuss two emergency rules on Tuesday morning - the primary topic was the possibility of requiring masks or face covering in most public space - but the meeting has been postponed until Friday at 7 a.m. and it will be done virtually.
Emotions were high at the meeting, and things escalated once it was announced that the meeting would be postponed.
It started when Gallatin County Sheriff Brian Gootkin tried to get the crowd to follow social-distancing rules: "We can only allow the people in the chairs in here. Other people can go outside - don’t shake your head, wait a second, listen to me - if you want to have this meeting and I want you to have this meeting… and you want to have this meeting, then please follow the rules."
Attendees refused to leave the auditorium, and the Board threatened to have the meeting virtually.
County Commissioner Joe Skinner said, "People were rude. They were very inconsiderate. It was going to become impossible to have the meeting so we shut the meeting down and we will regroup."
The disruption continued until meeting was finally postponed.
Sheriff Gootkin said many people against a possible mask mandate felt like their voices weren’t heard, and that fueled emotions: "I think there’s people that are scared to death of this virus, and there's people that are scared to death of losing what they believe are their freedoms and their liberties under the Constitution."
He continued, "We have to understand fear is fear, emotion is emotion, doesn’t matter which side you’re on. And we have to control that and be respectful and then we can have that conversation."
