Florida man is banning people from entering his bar with masks on

A bar owner in Florida will be a big hit with the anti-masker crowd as he is banning people from entering his bar with masks on! Do you think he is right?

CUSTOMERS entering the Westside Sports Bar and Lounge in West Melbourne, Florida are being asked to remove their masks or face being thrown out.

And Gary Kirkby, the venues owner, isn’t breaking the law.

The Sports Bar, in West Melbourne, is located within the Brevard County and current rules for businesses are that mask-wearing is not enforced by law.

The bars no mask policy is due to cause some debate among many but Kirkby is firm in his stance.

“[I find them] completely unnecessary to have facemasks at all. We do not support; we do not believe in them,” he said.

A “Masks Prohibited” sign was placed on the front door of the premises by Kirkby on September 11 and says that “anyone who refuses to take off their face coverings will be forced to leave the bar.”

“I personally don’t agree with it. So that’s why I made the decision to… I don’t want them here

“It’s hindering our lifestyle as we know it,” Kirkby stated.

Residents of West Melbourne and those in Brevard County are encouraged to wear masks but there currently is no law enforcement for mask-wering.

The decision from Mr Kirkby has drawn attention from the mayor of West Melbourne, Hal Rose, who stated, “It’s a business owner’s right to dictate what they want inside their private business. I don’t support (Westside’s) philosophy. But it’s their right.”

Despite the bar being a face mask free zone, Kirkby insists on proper disinfection of the premises and appropriate social distancing.

He insists that the bar employs a doorman “to keep track of the number of people entering the bar.”

He also claims he hasn’t had one positive case of coronavirus despite thousands of temperature checks.

Explaining his take on the virus, Kirkby said, “I do agree that there is a virus, with a 1% death rate. I feel like we are statistically just as likely to get hit by a train.”

But this story might not be all about the coronavirus as comments from the owner may have something to do with an unsolved burglary of his venue back in August.

Cash was stolen from the bar by someone wearing a mask and a baseball cap and the crime has yet to be solved because the face of the thief was covered.

The decision has left Kirby with a mix of death threats and a wave of support.

Thank you for reading “Florida man is banning people from entering his bar with masks on”, for more National and International news, visit the Euro Weekly News website.

Written by

Matthew Roscoe

Originally from the UK, Matthew is based on the Costa Blanca and is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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