Andy Tubergen, owner of Tubergen Cutting Tools in Kentwood, Michigan, said his sign is meant as a joke, and customers are welcome to wear masks in the shop.
But hanging on the door is a warning to those who enter his business that the employees inside are armed. This is in responce (sic) to “Gretch.”
The sign in front of Tubergen Cutting Tools Inc. reads “In responce [sic] to Gretch, attention: This facility is protected by armed employees for your safety! Remove your mask or raise both hands high and keep um up! Don’t be mistaken as a robber! Thank you, management. Open carry still welcome.”
Tubergen says he has a coping mechanism he uses, which is “to giggle daily.”
He says his guests are welcome to wear masks, but inside he and employees are too hot to wear one and he won’t be enforcing the wearing of masks for customers or employees.
“Anybody comes in here without a mask, I assume they have medical reasons, and it’s none of my business,” he said. “People who wear masks, I don’t rebuke them or disparage them or anything. Actually only very few people wear masks, and they’re generally older, and that is very understandable, they’re in a risk group.”
Tubergen also said he didn’t believe state health data on the virus was accurate, and called coronavirus “a flu strain.”
He doesn’t think he will offend anyone with his sign, saying if they are offended, they aren’t likely to be customers of his. Tubuergen says, “I feel sorry for people that find things like this offensive. Those are the same people who find Elmer Fudd’s shotgun offensive. Lighten up.”
Businesses that don’t comply with the order for mask requirements could be liable for Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) penalties or the loss of their operating license.
See USA Today.
