Before I get to today’s main event (discussing newly released body camera footage of George Floyd’s death) we need to start with something else—masks. Yes, masks. The absolute dumbest culture war in America just flared again, and so I suppose at long last it’s time for a brief legal explainer on mask mandates. 

Joe Biden delivered remarks yesterday in support of a nationwide mask mandate. He said, “Every single American should be wearing a mask when they’re outside for the next three months at a minimum. Every governor should mandate mandatory mask wearing.” Biden said that such a mandate could save up to 40,000 lives. Biden also said that this mandate was “not about your rights; it’s about your responsibilities.”

Trump attorney and senior legal adviser to his campaign, Jenna Ellis, responded immediately via Twitter: