Opinion by Dr. Rima
Rima E. Laibow, MD, Medical Director, Natural Solutions Foundation – September 20, 2020
Verizon and T Mobile are enormous companies with, one would assume, plenty of legal staff. They know, or have every reason to know, that if you assert a health issue that would be undermined by wearing a sanitary mask, you have the right to not mask. That’s clearly what the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) says. Breathing is a named condition in the law.
Yet yesterday, at two different T Mobile stores and at a Verizon store, I was barred entry despite clearly stating that I have an underlying health issue and so choose not to mask.
I was offered “accommodation” by making my decisions on the sidewalk where the temperature was 100 F. Really? That’s an accommodation? I think not. And, to make things even more egregious, the manner of the masked wonders who barred me from a place of public commerce while violating my rights was hostile and demeaning, telling me that I was wrong, that there was no such law and that I would be endangering them if I came into the store unmasked. (Wait…. if their masks work, how would that happen? Oh, sorry. Logic. What was I thinking?)
Not masking for health reasons, without being challenged, is my right under the ADA, the law of every State and most municipalities, including Pima County, where these stores are located. Not being singled-out for humiliation for expressing my ADA choice is a further violation of rights.
Personal back story: my phone is not working well so I have spent dozens of hours with Apple Care (who replaced my phone – hope, but no help) and Cox Technical Service (who replaced my router – hope, but no help).
While I like the phone number I have, I am willing to go through the pain of starting over with a new phone, a new carrier and a new number to fix this disaster. I am not, however, willing to be discriminated against and treated rudely into the bargain.
I have contacted Hans Vestberg, CEO of Verizon Communications and Mike Sievert, CEO of T Mobile, by Certified Mail, Return Receipt Requested, since Verizon and T Mobile do not provide email contact for its Corporate Officers. This letter has been sent to both of them with the following message, personalized for each:
Dear Mr. Vestberg/Sievert,
On September 19, 2020, multiple representatives of your company refused me unmasked entrance to their stores in Tucson AZ, located in Pima County. I clearly identified myself as a person with an underlying health issue which would be undermined by a mask or face covering, in accord with the exemptions permitted, in this case, by the Americans With Disabilities Act, (ADA) the Executive Order of Governor Doug Ducey of Arizona and the Pima County Resolution.
All of these make clear that discrimination, segregation, and unequal treatment for persons with disabilities are not permitted in the US. The “accommodation” I was offered in making my choices was to be segregated and required to stand on the sidewalk in the sun in the 100 F weather instead of being able to take a seat in the air conditioned store.
Furthermore, your employees were both arrogant and incorrect when they haughtily and impolitely ‘assured’ me that there was no such law protecting my rights and that I would be endangering them if I entered their store unmasked.
Leaving aside the breathtaking illogic of that position (if their masks are effective, what difference would it make if I were not masked?), whatever their personal beliefs, my rights are protected by a three-tiered assurance that I may, if an underlying health condition making masking untenable for me, enter a place of public accommodation unmasked.
I am, with this notice to you, requesting that you immediately inform all of your staff as to the rights of people like myself who are protected by the ADA, their State laws and, in many cases, local statutes, ordinances and regulations which comply with the overarching protection of the ADA.
Until I hear definitively that you have done so, I will suggest to the approximately 200,000 followers of the Natural Solutions Foundation, of which I am the Medical Director, that they avoid, insofar as possible, offering you their commerce since you are apparently comfortable with violating their right of Informed Consent and their disability rights.
I look forward to a clear statement of correction on this issue at the earliest possible moment in writing. Once I have that in hand, I will publish your response allowing us to alert our strong base and their social media contacts that the problem has been resolved in favor of both the law and of health freedom.
Yours in health and freedom,
Rima E. Laibow, MD
Medical Director
Natural Solutions Foundation
Dr.Rima@NaturalSolutionsFoundation.com
I urge you to take this format, modify it to your particulars and submit it to the heads of any companies, large or small, abridging your right of Informed Consent.
I can now shop freely, unmasked, at Home Depot, Costco, Target, Natural Grocers, Wholefoods, local restaurants and other stores and services simply because I have actively and assertively demanded the right to do so under the prevailing laws of nation, state, city and county using the Advance Sanitary Masking Directive most of the time and occasionally a strong letter to the CEO.
Please write to me, Dr.Rima@NaturalSolutionsFoundation.com, with your experiences and let me know how the battle is going.
And remember to join us at the Unmasked Crusader webinar here, this coming Saturday, September 26, 7 PM East Coast Time here: http://www.opensourcetruth.com/livestream-with-the-unmasked-crusaders/.
Share this article using the following link on Social Media to remind people that we are the powers that be, not the so-called elite. And remember to breathe! Link: http://www.opensourcetruth.com/shame-verizon-t-mobile-sprint-violating-your-rights-and-the-law/
Advance Medical Directives are available here: https://tinyurl.com/maskexemption
Remember, the more people who use them, the stronger each one is.
Y0urs in health and freedom,
Dr. Rima