Supreme Court Upholds TSA’s Ability to Require Masking

According to the Washington Examiner, Monday’s ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) ability for airlines and trains to require masking as a lower court had ruled. It’s likely unconstitutional, and it is certainly questionable from a medical standpoint, but SCOTUS would not want to undermine bureaucracy.

While masking is not required in most venues and places across the country, it is possible that the U.S. government will declare another pandemic. What then? Jonathan Corbett, a California lawyer, brought the case regarding masking to the Supreme Court. He lost his appeal. However, there is one person who will likely be pleased with the outcome. Joe Biden had already encouraged the Supreme Court’s affirmation of the appealed opinion because he had ordered masking for public transport on his first day in office.

Many studies have shown the dangers of masking oxygen, such as this one from the NIH. However, others found little or no benefit to masking. A February 2022 study showed that masking was making the COVID-19 pandemic worse. Johns Hopkins’ early 2022 meta-analysis concluded that COVID-19 lockdowns, including masking, caused more harm than they helped.

In November 2020, two scientists warned that limiting oxygen to children could cause brain damage and developmental delays. Recent research has shown that babies born during the pandemic have social communication deficits. This is partly due to their inability to learn to recognize faces from adults.

Why would the Supreme Court support the TSA’s ability for masking in the past and in the future? It doesn’t appear to have a satisfactory answer.