‘NO MASK ALLOWED INSIDE’ sign greets shoppers at this business, but is that allowed?

Ted Sanders is waging another one-man protest at his Riverside business, but this time it’s with a “NO MASK ALLOWED INSIDE” sign instead of an upside down American flag.

The owner of Tailored Jewelry, which is at 715 W. 13th St. just down from Riverside Cafe, previously flew the flag upside down to show his distress over revelations that the government is monitoring citizens in various ways. At the time, he said it hurt him to fly the flag that way, but he was determined to make a point.

This time, Sanders won’t discuss his sign.

“No, I’m not going to discuss with you at all, thank you,” he said before ending a phone call.

On a second call to tell him there may be a story, Sanders said, “I don’t care about it. . . . Don’t call me, and don’t bother me again.”

Since Sanders said masks aren’t allowed in his business, and the city and county both have passed ordinances that say people in public places have to wear them due to the coronavirus, where does that leave shoppers?

“They have to wear masks,” said Mayor Brandon Whipple.

He said the laws are comparable to smoking ordinances.

“You can’t smoke indoors because your second-hand smoke affects the health of other people.”

Whipple said the same legal logic follows with masks since they’re supposed to be worn to protect the health of others. He said the political or other beliefs of business owners don’t supersede that.

“If you want to do business in the city of Wichita, you need to follow the city of Wichita’s laws, particularly with public health,” Whipple said. “He’s creating an unlawful environment and a dangerous one.”

Whipple said there are some businesses that aren’t enforcing mask use as they ought to, but police aren’t stepping in unless they are businesses that attract a lot of people at once, such as nightclubs. In that case, he said, there’s gradual education going on, and people are changing their behavior.

Most Wichita businesses — if not all other Wichita businesses — don’t have signs prohibiting masks.

Even though Tailored Jewelry does, Whipple said no one with the city is likely to show up at the business to try to persuade Sanders to change his mind or force him to take down the sign.

Whipple said police need to put resources where they can do the most good.

“We’re not out there ticketing random people,” Whipple said. “I don’t think anyone . . . wants that.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 2:58 PM.