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Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson is regretting the statewide ban on mask mandates he signed into law in late April as COVID cases in his state return to levels not seen since January.
In a press briefing Tuesday Hutchinson was asked whether restricting local officials from requiring masks at a time when the state's cases were plummeting was a 'bad decision.'
'Our cases were at a low point,' he prefaced, adding 'Everything has changed now. And yes in hindsight I wish that had not become law but it is the law, and the only chance we have is either to amend it or for the courts to say that it has an unconstitutional foundation.'
Hutchinson argued the law would have passed either way because 'it would be overridden by the state legislature if I didn't sign it.'
Governor Asa Hutchinson said the mask mandate ban came at a time 'cases were at a low point' in a Tuesday press conference when asked if he regrets the decision
The governor appeared to begin saying he was 'not supportive' of minority rule before correcting himself to say he eliminated the state's existing mask mandate.
The number of people hospitalized with COVID in Arkansas
