Georgia mother stands up against school's mask mandate: 'There's no end in sight'

A Georgia mother of three went viral this week after she sounded off on her children's school board continuing its mask mandate through next year.

Courtney Ann Taylor joined "Fox & Friends First" Friday to talk about the reason behind her fiery speech to the Gwinnett County Board of Education earlier this month.

Taylor slammed members for forcing children to wear masks and socially distance at school, despite there being little evidence small children can contract a severe case of coronavirus.

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She also argued that it's been more than a year since the pandemic began, vaccines are available and every adult in Georgia is eligible.

"I think month after month I have been waiting for this mask requirement to end or at the very least ease up, and there's just no end in sight and nobody's even having the discussion about when this is going to stop," Taylor said.

Taylor claimed school board members voiced concerns about students' social and mental health, but argues they don't recognize the social and mental consequences of the mask mandate itself.

In her viral speech, Taylor said her 6-year-old daughter has personally complained, saying she doesn't want to wear the mask anymore.

"It's really heartbreaking to me. For her, her, my two year old, but yes, my oldest is in kindergarten and kindergarten is supposed to be fun and they play together, they learn how to play together. They learn social norms and how to solve conflict among themselves and how to read facial expressions from their peers and their teacher. And I don't see how any of the children can really do that and have a real childhood right now. I think it's very difficult," Taylor said.

In response, Taylor started a change.org petition to make face masks optional for children at Gwinnett County schools. As of Friday morning, more than 1,000 people had signed the petition, surpassing her original goal.

"I think it's imperative that adults and parents in our nation get involved, that we know who are who our school board members are, what their names are, what their email addresses are, when your monthly board meetings are," Taylor said.

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Taylor emphasized the importance of parents attending school board meetings and having their opinions heard.

"And I encourage parents across this country to please get involved and go to these meetings and let your voice be heard. We are our children's voice. And I encourage everybody to get involved in your children's education."